BOGOTA, Colombia — A notable human rights organization has announced that numerous offenses against civilians have been committed by rebel factions in Colombia as they endeavor to dominate Catatumbo, a strategically significant area located along Colombia’s frontier with Venezuela.
The twelve-page documentation by Human Rights Watch details severe actions by rebels, including the execution of defenseless farmers and the coercive recruitment of numerous children into their ranks. The organization urged the government of Colombia to expedite inquiries into homicides that have occurred in Catatumbo, where at least 78 individuals were murdered in the early months of the year after a ceasefire between local rebel groups fell apart.
“Our discoveries reveal pervasive abuses inflicted upon ordinary residents,” expressed Juanita Goebertus, the Americas director for Human Rights Watch.
Data from the Colombian Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office indicates that over 56,000 individuals have been displaced from their residences in Catatumbo since mid-January, following violent efforts by the National Liberation Army (ELN) to consolidate its power in the region.
Human Rights Watch disclosed that in specific villages, rebels went as far as pulling inhabitants out of their homes and executing those they believed were aiding a rival group known as the FARC-EMC. The investigation involved interviews with 65 individuals, including judicial officials, humanitarian workers, and displaced villagers.
“It is evident that the ELN aims to exert control over the border with Venezuela, in part due to the lucrative drug trade,” stated Juan Pappier, the deputy director for the Americas at Human Rights Watch. “Their endeavors have been long supported by the cooperation of Venezuelan security forces.”
Several escapees from Catatumbo recounted to Human Rights Watch instances where the ELN executed farmers directly in front of their family members. Moreover, allegations have surfaced that the FARC-EMC faction operates forced labor camps where locals, accused of various offenses, are obligated to work grueling hours harvesting sugar cane.
Human Rights Watch has called on Colombia’s Attorney General to deploy more prosecutors and investigators to Catatumbo, emphasizing the need to safeguard them to ensure that these offenses are thoroughly examined.
On January 20, the Colombian administration paused peace dialogues with the ELN after reports emerged concerning the group’s assaults on multiple Catatumbo villages. President Gustavo Petro, who once was part of a rebel group, has accused the upper ranks of the ELN of evolving into avaricious drug traders and forsaking their initial revolutionary visions.
Although Colombia experienced a decline in violence following a 2016 peace treaty with its largest insurgent faction, the FARC — which led over 13,000 fighters to disarm — isolated areas like Catatumbo have seen an escalation in murders, extortion, and forced relocations as smaller groups battle for supremacy in territories previously held by the FARC.
The National Liberation Army is reported by Colombia’s Ministry of Defense to have approximately 6,000 combatants stationed across Venezuela and Colombia.