In Colombia, a new massacre, with a toll of three people dead, was reported this Monday in the department of Antioquia, as part of the wave of political violence that shakes the South American country.
Bogotá.- Authorities are investigating the events that took place in the village of El Guamal in the municipality of Sonsón, and among the people killed was a 13-year-old minor. According to the Mayor's Office, this event would be related to a confrontation over the micro-trafficking business in the area. The victims were identified as Yulieth Natalia Díaz Carmona, 26 years old; Julián Vanegas Marulanda, 23 years old; and Michel Daiana Sánchez Díaz, 13 years old.
Authorities in this municipality blame criminal gangs and paramilitary groups fighting over the territory for the incident. According to the preliminary report, the facts would have occurred around 21H40 (01H40 Monday) of this Sunday and, according to the inspection carried out by the judicial authorities, the victims have firearm wounds.
The police report indicates that two of the persons died in the facilities of the ESE Hospital San Juan de Dios of that locality.
For their part, the investigative agencies are moving forward with actions to find those responsible for this massacre, which is added to the one that occurred in the municipality of Andes, in southwestern Antioquia, where five people were killed on a coffee farm.
According to the authorities, both massacres are related to the dispute over illegal rents between organized armed groups that commit crimes in these regions of the department.
MORE THAN 27,000 DISPLACED IN COLOMBIA VIOLENCE THIS YEAR
More than 27,000 people have been displaced in Colombia in the first quarter of 2021, the country’s human rights ombudsman said, as the South American nation grapples with a surge of violence. People have been forced from their homes amid threats, murders, forced recruitment by armed gangs, and clashes between armed groups in lawless areas, the ombudsman said on Monday.
Displacement in the first quarter of 2021 jumped by 177 percent compared to the same period last year. Colombia has witnessed an uptick in violence amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the United Nations saying in February that the country “continued to face endemic violence” throughout 2020.
“In various parts of Colombia, there has been an intensification of violence and increased territorial and social control by non-state armed groups and criminal groups,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in its annual report.
The UN said it had documented an increased number of massacres and human rights violations against rights defenders last year in areas without a strong state presence.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also said in March that Colombia was facing at least five continuing conflicts with armed groups that were affecting the daily lives of Colombians. The group reported at least 389 people – mostly civilians – were killed by explosive devices in 2020, the highest tally since 2016.
The Colombian government signed a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leftist rebels in 2016 that aimed to end a conflict that killed more than 260,000 people and displaced millions. But violence has been gradually increasing.
In late March, the government accused FARC dissidents – who have rejected the 2016 peace agreement – of detonating a car bomb in the town of Corinto, about 60km (37 miles) south of Cali in western Colombia.
The attack injured dozens, including several public officials.
Around the same time, one of the most notorious ex-FARC leaders urged the United States to help Colombia implement the peace accord.
In a letter, Rodrigo Londono highlighted the continued killings of ex-fighters and social leaders and asked the US Congress to “again call on the government of Colombia to make a final decision to implement the Peace Agreement comprehensively”.
He also urged the U.S. to encourage Bogota “to begin the promising process of developing our country to embrace lasting proposals to eradicate drug trafficking, modernize the territory, and protect life”. (RHC)
