What is the current situation in Colombia?
Since 16 January, the guerrilla group ELN and designer terrorist organization FARC’s offshoot has been fighting each other in the Catatumbo region in the northeast of Columbia near the Venezuela border. The violence has so far killed at least 80 people.
20 more people have been killed in clashes in the Amazon region south of the Betty rival Splinter Groups of FARC in the list.
According to the Colombian Army, around 20,000 people have fled from their homes for safe Arenas amid extreme violence.
Army Commander General Louis Emilio Cardozo said on the internet video, “They have pulled people from their homes and killed them.” “This is our job as a national army to stabilize the region.”
United Nations Secretary -General Antonio Guterres has asked for “immediate termination of the Act of Violence against Civil Population”, “Stephen Desric said.” The General Secretary is deeply concerned about the recent violence in the Catatumbo area of Columbia, “Dujarik said .
Rividity leftist extremist groups in the Cattumbo region are trying to gain control over human trafficking, arms trade, illegal mining, drug cultivation and cocaine trade.
The region is seen as strategically important, as drugs can be moved out of the country from there.
Daniel Para, a researcher at the North -East of Columbia, a researcher at the Peace and Recognition Foundation, says he cannot properly say what happened between the current clashes and the FARC Splinter Group.
“Some national media cited military intelligence that everything was happy after the loss of cocaine delivery and the murder of an ELN chief of finance,” he told DW. “But we do not know anything about anything why this armed conflict broke.”
For Roberto Garcia Alonso, a professor for law and politics at La Sabana University, the root cause of current violence is clear: drugs.
“The fight for regional control and drug trade, which are always central elements in this conflict, are putting more and more pressure on this border region, which serves as a corridor for drug trade Venezuela,” Hire said .
How long is the search struggle going on?
Since the 1960s, there have been armed conflicts between leftist guerrilla groups, drug gangs, rightist paramilitary and army in Colombia, causing hundreds of thousands of people.
Some 7 to 8 million people were displaced, and some 80,000 Colombians were classified as “missing”.
Who is the actor?
The revolutionary armed forces of Colombia (FARC) were the largest guerrilla group ever in Colombia. In 2016, he signed a peace agreement with the then government. The FARC was dissolved, but several spleter groups rejected the peace deal.
The so -called National Liberation Army (ELN) was established in 1964. This peace was not included in the courtyard and is still seen as the strongest rebel organization in Colombia.
What role does President Gustavo Petro play?
Gustavo Petro is the head of Columbia’s state since mid -2012. When he took over, he promised to interact with all the armed groups of the country with the aim of achieving widespread peace.
After the increase in violence to the north of Colombia, Petro spoke of war crimes and stopped peace talks with Ellen guerrillas. Hey imposed an emergency situation and declared a war on ELN, writing on X: “ELN has chosen the path of war, and that will be found.”
Petro Himola was once a member of an armed group, which was called M -19 to the Urban Guerrilla Organization.
what comes next?
Currently it seems suspicious whether the peace process can be advanced in the near future.
Garcia Alonso said, “This is very difficult, what is happening here is already eating in less popularity of President Petro.” “What is more, a wider peace policy has not given any results.”
For this reason, he said, it is not clear whether the government will continue on that path or not.
So Daniel Para is suspicious. First, Petro announced that the conversation with ELN would be suspended, and now one had seen with awe that Bibi had declared on the guerrilla group, he said.
“It worries us a lot because an armed conflict between guerrilla fighters and police will only cause more victims, more murders, more murders. We are wondering how the police will move forward,” Heer said.
But the mercury is not stopping its breath. He said that the ELN has been doing an armed fight for 60 years, and the government of Columbia has not seen the rebel organization with direct force at that time to improve the organization.
Emilia Rojas Sasse contradicts for this article.
The article was original in German.