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Jun 15, 20207 min read

Jorge Luis Betancourt & the dangers of defending Human Rights in the south of Córdoba

Updated: Jun 13, 2022

Jorge Luis Betancourt

Córdoba is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located on the Caribbean coast. It is known for being a livestock territory (typically cattle farming) and for its crops of corn, cotton, yam, yuca and banana, among others. However, it is also recognized for being one of the territories most affected by the internal armed conflict. Its inhabitants have been confronted by guerrilla groups, paramilitaries, criminal gangs and drug traffickers. There is good reason why Córdoba has suffered during the conflict; the department is considered geopolitically important due to its coasts facing the Caribbean Sea and its proximity to the department of Antioquia, as well as the fact that Córdoba’s lands are very rich in minerals such as alluvial gold and also perfect for illicit crops such as coca; meaning the department is attractive for both legal and illegal economies. On the other hand, Córdoba has also been victim to the largest corruption scandals; some of its most important political figures have been investigated for having links with illegal groups; perhaps the most shocking was “the Ralito pact” signed in 2001 between right-wing paramilitaries and politicians from all the Caribbean departments including Córdoba. The objective of this pact was the creation a unified national movement; Paramilitaries were looking to accumulate more political power. All these social problems and dynamics make Córdoba a dangerous place for those who live there and above all for those who dare to defend their lands and rights. The peace agreement between the government and the FARC promised to stop the violence in these territories, but the truth is that the assassinations of social leaders have been increasing since the agreement was signed in 2016. This article will explore these issues by telling the story of Jorge Luis Betancourt, the first social leader assassinated in the department this year.


Jorge Luis Betancourt was a 42 year old man based in Montelíbano, Córdoba, where he lived with his wife and kids. Jorge worked as a rural leader and was the president of the community action board (civilian organizations established by departments and run by communities to address local problems) in the village of San Francisco del Rayo, on the outskirts of Montelíbano. One of his principal functions was to coordinate sport events for his community. As the president of the community action board, he was in charge of being the legal representation to defend and ensure the interests of his community. He was also responsible for the accountability of their board and for concluding and establishing the legality of checks and documents for the minimum wage and contracts with public and privates entities. With this role Jorge Betancourt was able to help his marginalized community to face various issues. He was murdered on January 13th of this year in San Francisco del Rayo by members of an unidentified armed group in the region. He was considered a social leader in his community for being part of the action board and constantly defending the human rights of the inhabitants of San Francisco del Rayo, a village with a notorious power vacuum, meaning therefore a lack of tools for Jorge to actually exercise his responsibilities. His role was also challenged by other factors in the regional context. According to the police, the Clan del Golfo (the Gulf Clan and also known as the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia), a criminal group established by former paramilitaries, could be responsible for his murder even though the last security council meeting (meetings that are arranged by a monitoring body to address or recommend issues in terms of public safety) had warned of threats to social leaders belonging to this board due to the presence of illegal groups such as the Clan del Golfo in the region.

The department of Córdoba, but specifically the south, is one of the most affected regions in Colombia by the armed conflict. This territory is very rich in minerals such as alluvial gold and its lands are perfect for coca cultivation: factors which mean the presence of many illegal groups who fight to take the control of those lands. The groups with the greatest presence in the territory are “El Clan del Golfo”, Los Caparros (who before the signing of the peace agreement were part of “El Clan del Golfo, but in 2017 decided to separate from them and fight against them for more territory, drug trafficking routes and mining business), ex Farc members (frente 18) and probably other unidentified armed groups. In addition to this, there have been huge cases of corruption involving some notable political figures which seriously affect the government’s capacity in the territory and weaken the confidence of the inhabitants in the State institutions. This was the situation in which Jorge Betancourt had to work, situations which restrict the action of several social leaders like Jorge to complete their objectives of restoring peace in their lands. Issues such as illegal crops (coca), illegal mining (gold), and Parapolítica (corruption scandals involving connections between paramilitaries and politicians), are the source of financing for all illegal groups in the territory (according to the preventive report of the attorney general about illegal mining this activity is usually related with sponsorship of other illegal activities such as terrorist financing and criminal gangs) and have made social leader work for people like Jorge more difficult and dangerous. The vulnerable conditions that characterize the affected territory for illegal crops have facilitated the emergence of new forms of illegality, many of them sponsored by drug traffickers and public officials, and these different actors establish pacts between themselves to safeguard their interests.


The peace agreement signed with the FARC was supposed to put a stop to the violence in territories most affected by the conflict, including Córdoba, and in particular the south of the department, but unfortunately the breach of agreement has allowed the arrival of more illegal groups with the purpose of filling the power vacuum that the FARC left. This situation shaped the behaviour of social leaders that were forced to be more aware of their actions because of dangerous coalitions between illegal armed groups and political & economic actors in the region; the collusion of illegal groups with legal sectors aimed to neutralize leader´s actions. Thus, leaders like Jorge had to choose between fighting for their communities and being targeted by these coalitions or keeping quiet and remaining at a disadvantage. The south of Córdoba is not the only region that suffers this kind of conflict; all the Caribbean coast has problems with illegal groups and illicit activities, and unfortunately many other regions in Colombia face similar challenges, and many leaders face danger similar to Jorge’s.


The persecution against social leaders has been traced meticulously by several NGO’s, some newspapers, independent social leaders and the UN. The Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz) claims that at the time of writing, in 2020, 71 social leaders or human rights defenders have been killed. This shows that the levels of violence increases despite the denunciation of the communities and the early warnings of the Ombudsman’s Office. According to Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders: “Social leaders that defend human rights, environmental rights, the peace agreement with FARC and native community rights are those who are most at risk”. Since 2016, social activists have become more relevant to local democracy and Human Rights defence. Other social leader cases have similarities with Betancourt’s, leading to the assumption that these cases are systematic, rather than random; some cases have more information than others, but the lack of more information leaves us with loose ends.


One such example was the case of Jose Yimer Cartagena, who was murdered in Carepa, Antioquia on January 10th 2017. It can be noticed how political activities, work and what they represent can make them a target. Jose was a pedagogue for peace. He worked in “Pedagogias de paz” (a project in the south of Cordoba) and crop substitution around the area of the “Nudo del Paramillo”. His activities involved him in local political groups, being vice president of “ASODECAS” (Farmers association for development in the “alto sinu” region). Hernán Agamez Flórez was murdered on January 20th of 2017 in Tierradentro, near Montelibano, Cordoba. He had been an active member of Marcha Patriotica, a left-wing political group, and was the treasurer of the local community action board. His crime was committed one week after Jose Yilmer Cartagena’s. Luis Dario Rodriguez was a leader who worked on crop substitution in Tierralta, Córdoba. According to Cordobexia, which is an organization that constantly publishes reports of allegations of threats and murders of social leaders in the department, Rodriguez was working on land restitution rights for families affected by the construction and operation of the local hydroelectric plant, Represa de Urrá, located in Tierralta, and was murdered on January 17th of this year in Tierralta by hitmen. He was a member of “Asociación Unión de Familias Desplazadas y Vulnerables de Tierra Alta (Unified Association of Displaced Families” and the Human Rights Network in the south of Córdoba.


These murders reveal that Córdoba has a mix of many complex problems. It is especially rich in natural minerals and it has very fertile land but in addition to this, it is also known as one of the most affected departments by the armed conflict and for the constant struggle of its inhabitants against illegal armed groups to defend their rights and lands. In this kind of territory, social leaders like Jorge Luis play an important role for their communities. They have become communication links between the most vulnerable communities and the State institutions that have made criminal investigations possible against these illegal actors as well as bringing social programs to these communities such as the restitution of illegal crops. Jorge Luis’s work, just as that of many other social leaders, represents an obstacle to the criminal interests of the different armed groups that are present in the territory. The signing of the peace agreement promised to end the violence and provide guarantees to victims and social leaders, but unfortunately since 2016 there has been an increase in threats and murders of social leaders and human rights defenders. It is necessary that the Government and different local institutions in the affected departments take measures to help reduce violence in those territories such as increasing the budget for the safety of social leaders, and also allowing the proper conduct of criminal investigations against illegal actors and stopping the corruption that does not allow the department to obtain sufficient resources to guarantee the security and well-being of its inhabitants.


*Article written by Camila Orozco, Javier Jaraba, Dayana Gamarra


Information sourced from:

ion.pdf

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