Bogota, Colombia – “It modified into unsightly.”
That’s how a resident of Tierralta, in Colombia’s northern department of Cordoba, described a days-long siege imposed earlier this month by one of many country’s ideal paramilitary groups, the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC), is also called the Gulf Clan.
From the morning of Would possibly well maybe maybe merely 5 till silly night on Would possibly well maybe maybe merely 9, the armed community enforced a self-declared “armed strike” across the country’s northwest in maintaining with the extradition to the US of its detained ancient chief Dairo Antonio Usuga, is also called Otoniel.
The Gulf Clan took alter of 11 of Colombia’s 32 departments over the four-day span. It imposed strict lockdowns, shuttered native companies, closed off roads, disrupted transportation links, and warned residents to preserve interior or distress being shot or having their autos burned.
Several cities ran out of traditional provides similar to food and gasoline, whereas native hospitals confronted workers shortages. In other areas, families hold been stranded at transport terminals, unable to web home due to blocked roads, native media reported.
“You dwell with the region that it could maybe well furthermore happen yet again the following day to come,” acknowledged one other resident of Tierralta, Raul, who also requested to expend a pseudonym on memoir of security considerations. “For the reason that Gulf Clan are showing that they’ve the energy to operate concern,” he urged Al Jazeera.
A whole bunch of rights violations
The Gulf Clan’s armed strike took put of abode three weeks prior to Colombians will vote for their next president, elevating considerations in regards to the assorted of repeated violence as the population heads to the polls on Would possibly well maybe maybe merely 29.
“The authorities response to this match leaves folks more upset with their capability to categorical their political solutions or to participate in democracy. This match is amazingly, very detrimental to the quality of democracy in Colombia and to the native perceptions of security,” acknowledged Sergio Guzman, director of the Colombia Anguish Analysis consultancy community.
At some stage throughout the “strike”, the Gulf Clan dedicated now not much less than 309 acts of violence, in maintaining with the Special Jurisdiction of Peace (JEP) tribunal, which also registered the forced closure of 26 roads, the destruction of now not much less than 118 autos and the disruption of 54 transport terminals.
A total of 178 various municipalities in the country hold been below Gulf Clan alter, with 138 of them below strict lockdown solutions.
“They desired to show their military energy to level to that in many areas of the country they are the de facto authority and never the declare,” acknowledged a JEP representative, who spoke to Al Jazeera on situation of anonymity in teach to talk freely.
The JEP modified into formed in the wake of a 2016 peace deal between the Modern Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) community and the authorities, with a mandate to investigate, prosecute and punish these accountable for the most serious human rights violations.
Twenty-four civilians hold been killed at some level of the “strike”, the JEP also acknowledged, and a extra 15 tried murders hold been recorded. The Ministry of Defence reported six deaths, whereas NGO Indepaz recorded 18 over the route of the strike.
The JEP expert urged Al Jazeera that three social leaders – a term long-established in Colombia to pronounce activists, community representatives and rights defenders – hold been amongst these killed.
‘Tough failure’
The Colombian authorities hailed Otoniel’s preserve in October of closing three hundred and sixty five days and subsequent extradition to the US this month as worthwhile – and a definitive blow to the Gulf Glan’s operations.
On the other hand, closing week’s armed strike proved the community, which native NGO Pares has acknowledged counts as many as 3,260 participants, is by no scheme on shaky ground, analysts acknowledged.
For the reason that 2016 peace settlement below which the FARC demobilised, armed groups similar to the Gulf Clan hold taken advantage of the energy vacuum in mighty of Colombia’s rural areas. The Gulf Clan operates clandestinely in roughly 109 municipalities across the country, in maintaining with rights community Indepaz, but most predominantly in the north. It controls a form of drug trafficking routes and cocaine processing labs, and makes expend of violence to extort and intimidate populations.
“This match underscores how mighty the authorities underestimated the personality of the [Gulf Clan’s] chance. That is amazingly subtle for the authorities to in a scheme fling this in the direction of the rest but a sturdy failure of their security strategy,” Guzman urged Al Jazeera.
In spite of the strike being announced early on Would possibly well maybe maybe merely 4, no military response from the authorities modified into considered till Would possibly well maybe maybe merely 7, when troops hold been deployed to the affected Bolivar, Sucre, Cordoba and Antioquia areas to accompany autos and staunch the roads. In accordance with Ministry of Defence figures, bigger than 19,000 troops hold been deployed across the region.
“They survey to generate intimidation through remoted events and cowardly attacks, which they survey to maximise on-line and in the media,” President Ivan Duque urged journalists closing Saturday. “They are desperately looking out out for to level to a energy that they attach now not hold.”
But Guzman acknowledged the Gulf Clan will “seemingly be emboldened by the dearth of confrontation with the military”.
“The authorities doesn’t have to make contributions to the ‘we are support to battle’ epic, so escalating the tell could maybe well furthermore now not correct hold very valuable collateral wretchedness considerations, but could maybe well furthermore furthermore subtract enormously from the authorities’s epic that they’re maintaining teach in the country,” he acknowledged.
“The Gulf Clan correct ripped a gap during the epic by making it mighty for the authorities to explain its authority over one-third of its territory.”
Colombia’s Defence Ministry did now not straight answer to Al Jazeera’s demand for comment.
In the meantime, the JEP representative described the authorities’s response as “now not very efficient” whereas residents subjected to the four days below Gulf Clan alter hold been equally serious, pronouncing they felt abandoned.
“The declare demonstrated that it is a steady institution that doesn’t hold the ability to confront an armed community that has proven to hold alter of national territory and a huge energy at the national level,” acknowledged Jose David Ortega, a resident and human rights defender in the metropolis of Monteria, which modified into besieged by the community.
Raul, the Tierralta resident, added, “What hurts the most is that the declare never came out to defend the rights of its voters.”