4 March 2024
This is an unofficial translation and summary of the alert issued by the communities named below.
The following 25 Afro-Colombian communities living on collectively owned and ancestral land, namely, Comunidad Negra de Predio El Carmen Corregimiento de Juan y Medio, Comunidad Negra de Cascajalito Corregimiento de Juan y Medio, Comunidad Negra Los Palenques de Juan y Medio, Comunidad Negra de Los Morenos de Morenero Corregimiento de Juan y Medio, Comunidad Negra del Rio Tapia Corregimiento de Juan y Medio, Comunidad Negra de La Nueva Esperanza de Los Negros Vereda La Sierra Corregimiento de Juan y Medio, Comunidad Negra de Jose Prudencio Padilla Corregimiento de Juan y Medio, Comunidad Negra Los Trece Cruces del Arroyo El Totumo Corregimiento de Juan y Medio, Comunidad Negra Angela Deivis Corregimiento de Juan y Medio, Comunidad Negra de la Playa del Rio Tapia Corregimiento de Juan y Medio, along with the Wiwa Indigenous Peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, have been communicating with different state authorities (the Ombudsman’s office, the Presidency, the secretary of the departmental government, the National Ethnic Ombudsman’s office) since 30 August 2023, their concerns about the presence of the heavily armed Clan del Golfo and Conquistadores de la Sierra illegal groups in their territories.
The presence of the Clan del Golfo and the Conquistadores de la Sierra in their territories has been increasing since November 2023. They have been attempting to recruit Afro-Colombian youths living in situations of poverty and hardship with false promises of work. This escalated to the point where members of the Clan del Golfo started to occupy the communities, staying in houses where groups of families lived, or where there were young people.
Most recent events:
On Friday 23 February 2024, people from the communities were forced to attend a meeting in Juan Y Medio, where the communities were told by the Clan de Golfo “that they are here to stay but not to worry because they are not going to kill or interfere with the civilian population, that they want to help the village improve its quality of life, repair the aqueduct because they cannot be without water, repair the church, the roads, the health centres, clean the village, the football pitches, exercise government functions…they presented the social committee made up of 5 people who would work with the community on social issues, they also said that there are two leaders, and that in the community the second leader would remain in charge of the whole process in the region because the first one would be in charge at the departmental level”. Members of the community reported that the second leader was called Maicol.
On Saturday 24 February 2024, communities reported that, at 7pm in Juan Y Medio and El Carmen, there was a confrontation between members of the Clan del Golfo and the Conquistadores de la Sierra. The confrontation lasted from 7pm until 8pm, after which they entered the community of El Carmen and abused various people from the local community.
On Sunday 25 February 2024, the community of Juan Y Medio was ordered by members of the Clan del Golfo to lock themselves in, because there was going to be a confrontation with a large contingency of heavily armed men from the Conquistadores de la Sierra and they “would not answer for those who were outside of their homes”. The community did as ordered and, at the same time, informed the District Government Secretary, Dr Wilson Rojas, that members of the community were confined, scared and in fear of losing their lives. The Departmental Government Secretary, Dr Misael Velásquez, was also informed. The community requested that the army be deployed to control the area and safeguard the lives. However, the army did not arrive.
Despite being informed of the situation the local government showed no interest in what was happening to the Communities. The Afro-Colombian communities’ representatives raised this issue with local government requesting inter-institutional committee to agree a plan of action that would lead to safeguarding life, preserving cultural identity, and the integrated protection of their territory. This Committee should be made up of the Governor and the District Mayor, Government Secretaries, the National and Regional Ethnic Ombudsman, the National and Departmental Ombudsman and international organisations such as the Red Cross, the UN and the OAS and others deemed relevant. Despite the district and departmental authorities agreeing to this they have taken no action to date, and they have not communicated with the affected communities.
On Monday 26 February 2024, the army arrived at the community of Juan Y Medio and spent the whole night, leaving at 4.30am on Tuesday. At 5am when the community woke they found two bags containing a dismembered corpse thought to be that of Maicol (mentioned above) on the main street in the centre of the village. Both bags were left in clear view of the community.[1] As the Army spent the night in the community, the community has been led to question how this dismembered body had appeared – to them it signalled a lack of guarantees for the life and integrity of the Afro-Colombian communities.
Dismembered body that was left openly in the Community
The communities are calling for actions to be taken directly by central government, as well as by the local and regional authorities, the Ombudsman’s Office and International bodies in order to guarantee the lives and physical integrity of the communities, the conservation of their cultural identity and the protection of their territory in an integral manner.
These communities are being terrorised, forcibly confined and displaced. Their lives, culture and territory are at grave risk from heavily armed illegal groups vying for control of territory and communities.
ABColombia recommends that the Colombian Government and local authorities to:
- Convene an Inter-institutional with the participation of the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Interior Governor and the District Mayor, Government Secretaries, the National and Regional Ethnic Ombudsman, the National and Departmental Ombudsman and international organisations such as the Red Cross, the UN and the OAS and others deemed relevant to agree and implement, with the communities, measures that will safeguarding life, preserve the cultural identity, and provide integrated protection for their territories.
- Provide humanitarian attention.
- That the Attorney General’s Office, initiate an investigation into crimes committed as a result of the confrontations and the presence of armed groups in the territory and the dismembering of the body left in the community.
To the UK and Irish Governments:
- That the UK and Irish Government’s speak with their counterparts in Colombia to ascertain what actions are being taken to address this situation.
To the UN :
- That the Office of the high Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) monitor the humanitarian and human rights situation of these communities
[1] This frequently happened during the height of the conflict, leaving bodies in full view of the community rather than hiding them was a method of terrorising communities