Armed groups cause the displacement of 3,700 peasants in the Colombian municipality of Ituango

Ituango is a town in Antioquia, in the western mountain range of Colombia, which is synonymous with the endless exodus faced by its inhabitants, who have lived in eternal displacement by different armed groups.

This time, more than 3,700 peasants are fleeing the death decreed by the paramilitary group of the Clan del Golfo and the FARC dissidents.

In chivas (buses) or on foot, with their mattresses and pets, they do so in the midst of heavy rains that have destroyed the already battered roads of the population.

From the municipality, its leaders launch a desperate SOS and ask the Government of Iván Duque to react to the humanitarian crisis they are experiencing. The displacement began on Thursday, July 22, but it was not until this Monday afternoon that a helicopter from the Government of Antioquia and the Army was able to land with food and blankets. "The peasants are sheltered in schools and there is already a shortage of food and mattresses," says the community leader, Edwin Úsuga, from the population. The leader adds that there is a covid-19 outbreak in one of the shelters and they fear it could spread.

It is not yet clear what caused the order to displace the peasants. There has been no fighting in the area, but the risk was warned. The Colombian Ombudsman's Office had issued an early warning, a mechanism to draw the authorities' attention to threats against its inhabitants, ranging from being assassinated, disappeared, displaced, confined and forced to carry out forced labor. “The risk scenario is configured from the expansion and actions of the AGC [Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia or Clan del Golfo], the presence of other illegal structures presumably associated with the Virgilio Peralta Arenas Block and the expansion and actions of the 18 Front Román Ruíz ”, reads the Early Warning document that refers to the different armed groups that operate in the area.

The peasants have opted for displacement to save their lives.

And it is not the first time they do it.

Since the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Government and the extinct FARC guerrilla, there have been five massive exoduses that have increased the number of victims.

The last one, which occurred in February of this year, affected the same sidewalks that are being displaced today.

At that time, the peasants returned despite not having the guarantees for their return and now they are leaving everything again.

More information

• https://elpais.com/internacional/2020-07-15/la-violencia-contra-los-desmovilizados-de-las-farc-desplaza-a-casi-100-exguerrilleros.html

• Armed groups cause the displacement of more than 800 peasants in Colombia

According to the NGO Coordination Colombia Europe United States (Coeruropa), the growth and power of these groups has to do with the “premeditated non-compliance with the Peace Accords in this region”.

"Despite the multiple calls made by leaders of Ituango, the national and local government continue to ignore the claim of our right to peace," said the NGO in a statement.

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Ituango is a coffee-growing municipality, with an intricate topography and desired by armed groups as a drug trafficking route. Its history is also that of the vicious circle of war in Colombia. In the 1980s, the FARC guerrillas had a presence; At the end of the 1990s, the Self-Defense Forces disputed the territory and committed the massacres of El Aro and La Granja, when 200 paramilitaries tortured and murdered 15 peasants in the streets of the municipality.

Paramilitary groups demobilized in 2004 but were recycled under other names. So did the FARC in 2016, after years of dominating the territory. And now the dissidents of that guerrilla, made up of those who did not join the peace process, are fighting over the territory with groups such as the Clan del Golfo or the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces. Its targets are the peasants and ex-combatants who remain firm in the peace process.

One of the Territorial Training Spaces (ETCR) was installed in the area, where ex-guerrillas from the FARC had to make their transition to reintegrate into society. But before the murder of at least 15 of them, in addition to several of their relatives, 100 ex-combatants had to move. In July 2020, the Government of Iván Duque relocated them to another municipality, about 20 hours from Ituango, to continue with their reintegration process.

From that moment on, several Ituango residents feared that once the transfer was made, they would also take away the health post, and the State would again abandon them to their fate. For Coeuropa, "since the mid-90s such a complex situation has not been seen". That is why they urge the State to provide humanitarian assistance and to give guarantees so that the peasants can return safely. For the NGO, there is no intention of “preventing these acts of violence from being repeated”.

The governor of Antioquia, Luis Eduardo Suárez announced a reward of 50 million pesos (almost 13,000 dollars) for whoever offers information on alias 'Camilo', the man who has been identified as responsible for the displacement.

However, in a population with entrenched fear, this is not seen as a solution.

“There is also a problem of minimal absence from the State and therefore, distrust.

The fact that so many people have run away speaks of a very latent and widespread fear, ”explains the leader from the town.

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