Violence in Colombia: Update
Much recent violence was concentrated in the Antioquia department in northwestern Colombia. There, in one six-day period, nineteen people were killed in three separate attacks.
The first of these massacres occurred Friday July 2, in Envigado near Medellín, where eight were killed in a shooting at a bar around 2 a.m. Gen. Óscar Naranjo, director of Colombia's National Police, attributes the attack to rivalries between factions of the "Oficina de Envigado," a narcotrafficking syndicate once dominated by ex-paramilitary commander Diego Fernanco Murillo, alias "Don Berna," who was extradited to the United States in 2008. The two factions, led by alias 'Sebastián' and 'Valenciano,' are fighting for control of illicit funds and the local drug trade. Authorities are offering a reward of 200 million Colombian pesos (about $105,000) for any information leading to the arrest of the shooters.
In a statement released July 2nd, President Álvaro Uribe said that the incident was demonstrative of "the criminal phenomenon of narcotrafficking" that has stricken the country and that the Colombian government, armed forces and justice system "has to do more."
The next attack came on Sunday, July 4th, in Cisneros in northwest Antioquia, where a shooting left four dead and one wounded. All four victims had criminal records for various offenses, namely homicide, illegal transport of arms, and links to criminal groups. Police believe the shooting to be a retaliation attack by "Los Rastrojos," another criminal group with paramilitary heritage, on another, "Los Urabeños." Violence between these two groups vying for territorial control of trafficking routes is common in the area.
The third incidence of violence took place Wednesday, July 7th in Uramita municipality, also in northwestern Antioqua. At around 5 PM, a family of seventeen traveling along the Guayabo Juntas road was attacked by a group of ten armed men. Of the seven people killed, two had previous criminal records and links to paramilitary units that transitioned into criminal groups following the 2006 AUC demobilization effort. Two of those killed were minors.
While the investigation is still underway, authorities are certain that the violence is centered on competition between rival emerging criminal groups involved in narcotrafficking. Prior to 2006, there was a heavy paramilitary presence in Uramita. Following the demobilization, however, the various paramilitary units broke down and now the Urabeños and FARC operate in the zone. The Antioquian government has offered a 100 million-peso reward for information leading to the capture of the offenders. It has also pledged to increase its presence along three important roadways that criminal groups have been targeting: those connecting Medellín to the northwest port region of Urabá, the central Magdelena Medio river region, and the Atlantic coast.
On Wednesday in Bolívar department near the Caribbean coast, security forces launched an aerial attack that killed 13 FARC members. According to intelligence officials, the FARC were attempting to re-establish their presence in the Magdalena Medio region, from which it had been largely expelled since the mid-2000s. President Uribe said the attack was "a message" to the Farc's second- in- command, Ivan Marquez.
Also this week, the Colombian military launched an attack against paramount FARC leader Alfonso Cano in Florida municipality, in Valle del Cauca department. According to the Colombian newspaper El Espectador, the Colombian security agency DAS paid for information about the location of a FARC encampment believed to be used by Cano.
Over the weekend, the death toll in Colombia reached 31 due to a wave of FARC-related violence in various regions throughout the country. The assorted attacks culminated in the death of 12 rebels, 13 soldiers, 2 policemen, 2 government officials and 2 civilians.
Yesterday, July 11, at around one in the morning, a combination task force of Colombian Air Force members and local police launched a surprise attack on a FARC unit in the Tolima department. The attack left 12 rebel members dead, all of whom were part of a unit assigned to protect the group's dominant leader, Guillermo Sáenz, alias 'Alfonso Cano.' Although the assault did not result in Cano's capture, it did claim the life of Magaly Grannobles who Gen. Freddy Padilla, commander of the Colombian armed forces, described as "an extremely dangerous criminal and a trusted confidant of the FARC leader."
Also over this weekend, 13 soldiers were killed along the Venezuelan border in the northwest region of the Arauca province. On Saturday, 3 soldiers died in a minefield in the Puerto Rondón municipality of the province. On Sunday, 10 soldiers were killed and another four were wounded in a confrontation with the FARC on the El Sinaí road in the Arauqita municipality of the Arauca department. The soldiers were pursuing FARC members who were supposedly trying to blow up electrical towers. The FARC also attacked a DAS patrol unit in the region, which left one explosives technician dead and another two detectives in critical condition.
On Sunday in the municipality of Suárez in the Tolima province, the FARC assaulted a local police patrol unit, using firearms and explosives, killing two police and two civilians.
In the Antioquia department, a FARC unit open-fired on a vehicle, which left one government official dead and another three wounded.
This post was written by CIP intern Sarah Kinosian