News Update: Violence in Colombia Share This /

Colombia was upgraded last week to investment grade by rating agency Standard and Poor’s. Following the upgrade, the Colombian peso rose to its highest point in two weeks and stocks rose to their highest in two years, Bloomberg reported. Standard and Poor’s upgraded the country due to “a ‘favorable’ growth outlook and ‘resilient’ economy.” Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings still rates Colombia one level below investment grade, although the rating agency gives the country a “positive outlook”. Despite this positive news, violence has continued throughout the country. Below is a rundown of some of the most recent news stories.

Nariño

Putumayo

Risaralda

Valle del Cauca

• Huila, Norte de Santander

   

• EL TARRA, NEIVA: Three rebels were killed by the military on the border of Tolima and Huila over the weekend. Their bodies have been transferred to Neiva, the capital of the Huila department, for identification. Authorities believe one of the guerrillas may be Arquímedes Muñoz, alias “Jerónimo,” one of the men closest to FARC leader Alfonso Cano. Two other rebels and one soldier were also killed during a confrontation in a rural area of El Tarra, in Norte de Santander over the weekend, according to the article.
• CUMBITARA: Early last Wednesday, two soldiers were killed and five were injured in Cumbitara, a rural area of Nariño department. The attack has been attributed to 29th Front of the FARC. There is no mention of how the soldiers were attacked, though it is reported that this was the second attack in less than 48 hours in Nariño. On Tuesday, the ELN attacked the police and military barracks in Balalaika, in the municipality of Santacruz-Guachavéz.
• PUERTO ASIS: Last weekend, the FARC attacked a military base in Puerto Asis, a town in the Putumayo department. The rebels reportedly attacked using two shells fired from a homemade mortar, although initial reports stated that 11 rounds were fired into the base. No casualties were reported.
• SAN MIGUEL: “Oliver Solarte” a top member of the FARC, was killed Tuesday by the Colombian military in San Miguel, a town in the Putumayo department, near the border with Ecuador. According to President Juan Manuel Santos, the guerrilla “managed all the drug trafficking and arms trafficking for the southern bloc of the FARC.” He was also the rebel group’s contact with Mexican drug cartels. Santos called the operation a “very important strike” in the government’s continuing struggle against the FARC. Solarte had been wanted for extradition by the United States and Colombia had been seeking him for “terrorism, kidnapping, rebellion, and murder.” according to CNN.
• PEREIRA: The Águilas Negras have threatened Maria Eugenia Londoño, Vicente Villada, Juan Carlos Valencia, Diego Osorio, Guillermo Castaño, Jairo Quintero, Gustavo Marin , Hernando Aguirre, Carlos Valencia and Gerardo Santibañez of the Risaralda chapter of Sindicato de Trabajadores y Empleados de Servicios Públicos Autónomos y Descentralizados de Colombia (Simtraemsdes), according to Santibañez, one of the directors of the workers' union being targeted. Santibañez tells El Tiempo that the threats are “recurring” and that the group is “sadly” accustomed to the threats. The article reports that the group is being targeted as a “military objective” for the Águilas Negras.
• BUENAVENTURA: UNHCR reported Thursday that confrontations between armed groups over illegal mining in the Anchicayá River has forced more than 800 Afro-Colombians to leave their homes along the river for the port city of Buenaventura since the beginning of the month. UNHCR says it “plans to visit the area with government officials and NGO representatives in the next few days to gather first-hand information about the population movement.”

This post was written by CIP Intern Erin Shea