Colombia: Narco violence especially effects Indigenous and Afro-Colombians

The frequent actions of armed groups against the people of Colombia have affected especially those of the Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, spreading fear and anxiety among those living in the department of Chocó. According to the Fides news service, these communities are no longer able to lead a regular life, surviving in trauma and silence, refusing to talk about their situation.

In recent days there have been at least two other armed attacks carried out by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist guerrilla group linked to narcotrafficking, in the northwestern region of the South American country bordering Panama. Colombia has been plagued for decades by the struggle over political legitimacy and cocaine production and trafficking. In Chocó , , ,    , the first of the recent attacks occurred on Sept. 18 in the coastal town of Lloro, in the Upper Atrato region. No victims were reported. On the following day, a second episode, claimed the life of one police officer in the Quibdo, the capital of the department of Chocó. In addition, another policeman was wounded in the affray.

When the conflict broke out in Lloro, the mostly Afro-Colombian local residents escaped to their homes, bolting doors and windows, invoking God's protection, according to the Fides service. The parish house became a beehive of people, especially young people who were confused and agitated. Shortly before, in the Miguel Angel Quiroga, the congregation commemorated the life of Catholic clergy of the Marianist order who were killed by right-wing paramilitaries thirteen years ago in the town. Police Superintendent Raul Gutierrez of Lloro said that members of FARC Front 34 opened fire on the police station, firing from the opposite bank of the Atrato River. His first impression was that the insurgents "may have wanted to divert attention, perhaps to move the transportation of drugs or other goods at a different point of the river".

Mauricio Salinas, spokesman for the diocese of Quibdo and a local radio personality, reported that "the lack of reliable information has brought only anxiety and panic among the people", because government authorities have neither confirmed or denied details of the recent incidents. "The armed conflict began to hit Chocó in 1996 and 1997," Rev. Uli Kollwitz to the press. The German priest, who is the head the Commission on Justice and Peace of the diocese, explained the history of violence in the region. He said, "At that time the paramilitaries arrived in crowds to take over the territory along the Atrato River, which provoked a reaction on the part of the guerrillas, which strengthened their presence. Today there are officially no more paramilitaries, but their presence is hidden, so they do not go around with guns and uniforms, but people know them, so they have the same power to intimidate. The guerrillas is present in all areas of the tributaries of the Atrato River, it also has military control over the territory and puts pressure on many communities".

Since 1998, when the police station opened in Lloro, there have been 39 attacks or violent actions by the guerrillas, who have killed 19 policemen, said the superintendent Gutierrez. In addition to the victims, more than other 800 cases have been registered by the diocese, of people who have been murdered or disappeared at the hands of armed groups from Lloro, legal and illegal.