For 7 days there has been a blockade on the road that leads from Puerto Gaitán to the Rubiales village where The peasants in the area are demanding that the government improve the state of the road.
(Read: ‘We will take into account that Bogotá did not respect agreements’: Minstransporte).
The closure of the road is taking place in a strategic place for the exploitation of hydrocarbons. That is why the companies that operate in the area, Ecopetrol, Frontera, Hocol, Tecpetrol and Cespaexpressed their disagreement about the situation due to the “serious social and economic consequences” that it is generating.
Through a statement, the companies stated that there are more than 5,332 workers in the sector and their families who are harmed because they were is preventing entry and exit to their work sites.
“The social and economic impacts are enormous, taking into account that the protesters are denying the passage of food and supplies, in addition to the fuel necessary for the continuous operation of the operations of the companies that to date are ceasing to produce more than 49,500 barrels per day“, they state in the letter.
(See: Routes, restrictions and schedules on the Pan-American Highway).
Along with this, they report that affectations are being generated in oil operations and in the loading of the Cartagena and Barrancabermeja refineries; “Which puts the supply of liquid fuels in Colombia and other countries to which we export at risk.”
Finally, they assure that although they respect the right to protest of the inhabitants of the area, they reject the de facto routes. “We invite the community, the departmental and local authorities, and the national government, to seek joint solutions that allow the blockade to be lifted and agreements to be reached in which the well-being of the department prevails.“, they assured.
BRIEFCASE
