Guerrillas with long weapons patrol on motorcycles one of the dusty roads of Catatumbo, the drained region of Colombia on the border with Venezuela. Mountains inside, where State forces do not arrive, the rebels consolidate their de facto law in a disputed territory.
(Read here: Impacts on gambling with VAT in the internal commotion due to the Catatumbo crisis)
The AFP had access to this terrorized area, a week after an attack by the rebels of the National Liberation Army (ELN) that unleashed an unusual humanitarian crisis with more than 80 dead, at least 36,000 displaced and thousands confined.
Hooded and heavily armed, the guerrillas showed muscle and multiplied their checkpoints on the roads to prevent the entry of the military and dissidents of the extinct FARC, their enemies in this drug trafficking enclave.coal mining and one of the points through which the country’s main oil pipeline passes, a target of attacks to steal oil.
Despite leftist President Gustavo Petro’s order to regain control, there are no signs of the arrival of the State. Civilians travel in cars with white flags tied, as a gesture of peace and only protection.
At the edge of the mountain are coca leaf crops, the main component of cocaine and the bone of contention between FARC dissidents and the so-called ‘elenos’ of red and black flags, the oldest rebel organization in America.
Residents anticipate prolonged suffering in this untamed 11,000 square kilometer region: “These wars last for years”laments Luz Franco, Grocery store merchant, 44 years old.
The whole town locked itself in
On January 16, the ghost of the worst times of the Colombian armed conflict revived. Franco locked the door of his house and waited for the shooting to end. with her husband and children of 15 and 10 years old.
“You could see the entrance of the (guerrilla) group to the town”he says in his business.
“The whole town locked itself in that day, everyone was looking for shelter from one side to the other (…) We locked ourselves in, waiting (…) We didn’t know what was happening at that moment”he adds.
Rumors spread about rising tensions between the ELN and the dissidents that did not accept the 2016 peace agreement, but the attack was surprising.
For days, the ELN mobilized hundreds of combatants from the nearby department of Arauca without being detected by intelligence. The troops settled in Catatumbo swelled and had no mercy.
According to the Army and social organizations, the rebels carried out a hunting operation, in which their victims were searched with “list in hand”accusing them of being related to dissidents.
Between Among the deceased are a baby, two minors, dissidents and peace signers accused of collaborating with them.
A restaurant owner, afraid to speak on camera, says her husband was held for four days until he was released. Now the man does not leave his house and suffers the psychological consequences, says his wife.
The state Ombudsman’s Office warns that there are still five people missing, others “They have managed to escape, either by their own means or in land, motorized or river caravans.”
(See here: Internal commotion: the ABCs of the new measure adopted by the Petro government)
During the tour, AFP observed the rescue of a displaced person and three young women confined under pressure from the ELN. The entity in charge of protecting human rights took measures to remove them and take them to a safe area.
Catatumbo.
César Melgarejo / Portfolio
‘We want peace’
“We are in a moment of crisis (…) This is a situation that was not expected”says Édgar Guerrero, 34 years old and community leader of El Aserrío, a hamlet anchored in Catatumbo.
The activist criticizes what he considers an unfulfilled promise of Colombia’s first left-wing government, which was supposed to prioritize this region to implement the peace process that disarmed the FARC in 2017 and that sought to bring development to the places most affected by the war.
When the military does not appear, rebel forces command here. The ELN wrapped the houses in posters alluding to its 60 years of armed uprising, while the dissidents exalt images of the bearded former commanders of the FARC and other figures such as the ‘Che’ Guevara.
President Petro described the number of deaths and the exodus of displaced people as “one of the most dramatic events” of “the contemporary history of Colombia.” He suspended peace negotiations with the ELN and declared Catatumbo and other conflict regions in “inner shock”.
(Follow here: National Army launches offensive against the ELN in Catatumbo)
Now the president considers the rebels a “armed body dominated by greed”, “warlords and mass murderers.”
Climbing the mountain, the children of the La Cecilia community painted a cloth with the message ‘We want peace’, which now flies in the street.
However, Many suspect that the revenge of the dissidents will come sooner rather than later.
AFP
