“I will never go back to arms. For what? if I have everything here”: Santofimio was an example of reincorporation and environmental restoration in Puerto Guzmán, Putumayo.
Putumayo News.
Jorge Santofimio was raised by his grandparents in Huila, from the age of 7 he had the administrative gift of handling the accounts of his family’s store, he was the youngest of three brothers.
They went to live in Putumayo with their parents and when they were 15 years old, together with their younger brother, they decided to enlist in the FARC guerrillas. There he received the nickname ‘Jorgillo’ in the 32nd Front.
However, the violence took the life of his brother Daniel Eduardo, “the Army killed him,” he told a newspaper that interviewed him.
Santofimio handed over his weapons
In 2016 Jorge handed over his weapons, with the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Colombian State and the extinct FARC guerrillas.
Since then he dedicated himself to betting on peace in various spaces.
Committed and sure of his decision, he demonstrated his initiative to restore the forests and ecosystems of Putumayo in a sustainable manner.
After passing through the Territorial Space for Training and Reconciliation of ‘La Carmelita’, he decided to found with other reincorporated the Common Multiactive Community Cooperative, communication.
Photos: Alexander Cabezas Claros – Member of COMUCCOM.
In this space Santofimio led processes in Puerto Guzmán, hard work awaited him but from a collective perspective. That was how, through various negotiations with the local administrations and the Council, they managed to obtain land by loan where they would work with 25 people in ‘La Granja’.
They lived through difficult times but their hope and teamwork kept them united, Santofimio was known for his positivism and dedication to service.
His goal of defending nature had a long way to go, so together with his colleagues from the cooperative they developed a fish farming project.
Under many adversities they managed to get their project approved by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP); with the Agency for Reintegration and Normalization, (ARN); and in the company of the United Nations Organization (UN), to be financed and thus continue working.
At that time there were already 108 people associated with the cooperative. The objective of the project was the sowing of 132 thousand fingerlings and the construction of ponds for the production of tilapia.
was father
Apart from betting on peace and fighting for the conservation of the environment, Jorge also had a passion for which he worked every day.
He was the father of four children, two of whom lived with him and his mother in the Cooperative, where more than 40 ex-combatants also lived with their families.
Low blow
Jorge Santofimio was an example, a leader and the soul of the cooperative; but on February 2nd, his life was taken from him in the room where the cooperative meetings were held.
Two signatories of the Peace Agreement assassinated in less than a week in Putumayo
With him, there are six signatories of the Peace Agreement assassinated in 2022 and 305 since its signing, according to Indepaz.
