Recent Violence in Colombia Share This /

Colombia's ongoing conflict has seen its fair share of developments in the past two weeks. Here's a rundown of recent news:

• On January 14, the homes of Puerto Asís Mayor Mauro Toro and his daughter, Sandra, were attacked, presumably by FARC guerillas. According to the commander of the Putumayo police department, Colonel Juan Alberto Libreros, Sandra's home was attacked with mid-power explosives, and it appears that the rebels' intention was to kidnap her. About the same time, the mayor's house was attacked by gunfire. No casualties were reported. The two both live in Puerto Asís, a town in the Putumayo department.
• A week earlier, on January 7, a statement by FARC leader Alfonso Cano was released on YouTube, claiming that the FARC would intensify its attacks in 2011. The Colombian government labeled the statement "bravado" on the part of Cano. An English translation of the statement can be found here.
• The murders of two college students in Córdoba, Margarita Gómez, 23, and Mateo Matamala, 26, whose bodies were found on January 10, exposed the difficult reality that 31 murders had been committed in the department so far this year.
• A family from Anorí in Antioquia was rescued by members of the Colombian Army and Air Force after escaping from the FARC, who had sentenced them to death. El Colombiano published an in-depth story of their escape here.
• 72 families from rural areas of the Córdoba department were forcibly displaced recently as a result of fighting between Las Águilas Negras and Los Paisas. The actions of the two paramilitary groups were later denounced by ombudsman Volmar Pérez. The exact number of people that comprise the 72 displaced families is unknown.
• Yesterday, according to the Colombian Air Force, three troops were injured when members of the FARC attacked a military base in Valle del Guamuez with explosives and gunfire. The injured were taken to a hospital in the zone.
• Colombian Minister of Defense, Rodrigo Rivera, announced yesterday that an offensive is being launched against kidnapping and extortion in the department of Arauca, in northeastern Colombia. The department, which borders Venezuela, has seen a decrease in the number of homicides recently, but there is "worrying activity" in regards to kidnapping and extortion, crimes that authorities say the FARC and ELN are committing from the Venezuelan side of the border.

This post was written by CIP Intern Erin Shea