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Almost 15 years after AUC demobilisation, neo-paramilitaries exercise control over large parts of Magdalena (with tragic consequences for leaders such as Yoryanis Berna, Maritza Quiroz & Wilton Orrego (pictured top to bottom)
While the first Article of the Political Constitution of Colombia states that our country is “democratic, participatory and pluralist, founded on respect for human dignity, on the labor and solidarity of the persons constituting it and on the primacy of the general interest”, these characteristics are not reflected in the reality of our society. Here, many people feel they are Colombian only by name; that the State and its institutions are so far away from them, they seem foreign. This sentiment is mainly present in the “peripheries” of our country; those places far away from the thoughts of the major cities, where vulnerable communities such as afro-descendants, indigenous people or campesinos (those involved in small scale farming) live.
All of the above is a consequence of the power vacuum due to the absence of the State, where the protection or social development policies, if there are any, do not have a real impact on the communities they are meant to benefit. Colombia is a country where the investment in education, health, work or economic development projects is not enough to tackle the problems the population is facing, or where the resources for such projects simply never make it to the intended populations because of corruption in the power pyramid. In our country, State power is so concentrated in the center of the country (and in the hands of the same small minority who have had it throughout Colombian history), it has practically turned its back to any place it does not perceive as important enough. We live in a reality where the alienation and the distrust towards the State has gotten so bad, people try to extricate themselves from the political narrative of the country. This power vacuum has been exploited by illegal groups, either paramilitary, guerilla groups or even BACRIM (an acronym for Criminal Gangs; groups formed by former paramilitaries following the demobilization of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia in 2006), in order to seize power over the population who reside in those vulnerable areas. This situation has led to violence against social leaders; citizens who fight for the rights of their communities because the interests of these illegal groups far from benefit the population. These leaders must then claim their rights without the protection of the State and in the presence of dangerous illegal groups. Not only do these assassinations obey social, economic or political reasons, but they also create a cycle that perpetuates them: someone raises their voice to claim the fulfillment of their rights, they get killed and the crime is either never solved or attributed to another reason; the government does not intervene and the original problem is never addressed, thus making it necessary for someone else to speak up. These situations may vary from region to region, and even from department to department, but the dynamics are the same. In this article we will focus on Magdalena, a department important for its tourism (mainly in Santa Marta and the Sierra Nevada areas), and its agricultural, livestock and port activities. The department is home to four main indigenous groups and two protected natural areas. This article will explore the issue of illegal groups in Magdalena and focus on three cases of leaders being killed in the region in order to understand the dynamics that ultimately explain why social leaders are absolutely crucial to the growth and welfare of their communities, and why the government should be doing more to not only guarantee their welfare but also to ensure that their requests are heard.
Context of violence in Magdalena
The terrain of a region largely determines its value for illegal groups. Magdalena not only has large extensions of fertile soil and the Sierra Nevada mountain range, where many illegal activities can be concealed, but it also has a strategic geographical location in Colombia, ideal for trafficking towards other countries. The main problems within this department are the cultivation of illicit crops, the links between illegal groups and politics, the occupation of some properties by landowners who have in the past had links with paramilitary groups and whose lands are now either protected wildlife areas or being claimed by indigenous and other campesino communities, and the displacement of families and communities related to all of the above.
The conflict in Magdalena is not a recent problem; it has been a reality for decades, stretching back beyond the formation of the guerrillas and years later when paramilitary groups were formed. The former, upon consolidation, built a drug trafficking empire near the lands of the country’s bananas companies, taking advantage of the perks provided by the fertile terrains and their isolated location to cultivate their crops. Among the guerrilla groups, we can highlight the FARC and the ELN, which proclaimed themselves to be the legitimate authorities of these territories given the evident vacuum of state power. On the other hand, the paramilitary groups appeared in the 90s, with their goal being to counterbalance the guerrillas’ influence in the region by fighting them. They were mainly integrated by families with a broad territorial power who sought to protect their properties and businesses from the abuses of such groups. We can highlight the predominance of the Giraldos, the Rojas Clan, Los Paisas, Los Chamizos, the William Rivas Front and the actions of alias “Jorge 40”; as being examples of paramilitaries who sought to overthrow the guerrillas in Magdalena, but later became associated with drug trafficking, murder services, parapolitics, and created a curse of violence much worse than the one experienced with the guerrillas.
In the 1970s, the Rojas and Giraldo families settled down near the Sierra Nevada´s territory, uprooting indigenous communities that had lived there due to their desire of getting their fertile lands for agricultural and livestock ends. However, because of the guerrilla presence they were often threatened and sabotaged, inciting them to hold up arms in order to protect their lands and eliminate the insurgents. As a result, both families decided to join into this cause and created the first paramilitary group in the department called Los Chamizos, which took control of the Sierra for almost 20 years. Later on, this new coalition got involved in drug trafficking, murders, blackmailing, and the displacement of multiple communities all over the region. Nonetheless, in 2000, the Rojas Clan, “Jorge 40” and Los Castaño brothers (Carlos and Fidel Castaño were the leaders of this paramilitary group, created as revenge for the murder of their father at the hands of the guerrillas) got in a dispute with Giraldo and a grim war covered Magdalena, in which hundreds of people died. Since the previously mentioned forces had much more power, Hernan Giraldo was defeated and an agreement was made stipulating that a new paramilitary group needed to be created synthesizing Los Chamizos with their forces. Here was born the Tayrona Resistance Force with alias Jorge 40 as their chief and Giraldo as the commander. This paramilitary force was responsible for some terrible acts of violence which created cases of mass displacement of communities in Magdalena and surrounding areas. Based on the Fiscalía Novena de Justicia y Paz data, The Tayrona Resistance Force is responsible for more than 2.900 assassinations all over the Sierra Nevada due to their extreme resentment of the guerrillas and anyone perceived as being sympathetic to them.
By 2006 Giraldo, as part of the AUC demobilisation process, submitted to the justice process and the paramilitary groups went into conflict due to their ambition to fill the power vacuum left by him. As a result, they divided into factions forming some of the today’s organizations such as Las Águilas Negras, Los Paisas, el Clan del Golfo and Los Pachencas. The last one (Los Panchecas but now being identified as the Conquistador Heroes of the Sierra Nevada) in particular are suspected of carrying out much of the modern day violence in Magdalena, being in possession of a lot of territories inside Magdalena and all over the Caribbean region.
Crimes against leaders and activists
The alarming presence of violence and the transgression of human rights has led some individuals to take a step forward in order to fight for the safety of their communities. In this case, due to the complex situation that Magdalena is going through, social leaders have emerged to represent the interests of these communities. Nonetheless, they are constantly jeopardized by armed groups that intend to establish fear among the population of the region in their desire to maintain their monopoly of power, causing the cruel assassinations of social leaders in the department. Recently, Los Pachencas has become one of the most powerful paramilitary groups in the Caribbean region, mostly in Magdalena and La Guajira where nearly all their operations are done. This armed group is dominant in the region from the area of Cienega to Dibulla in the department of La Guajira, filling the void that was not only left by Hernan Giraldo, but also the one felt due to the absence of State presence. The activities of this organization are focused on drug trafficking, illegal commercialization of gasoline, blackmailing and they are suspected of responsibility in the assassination of social leaders the region; in fact, 2 of the 3 cases which this article will highlight are suspected to have been perpetrated by this group.
The first case to look at is Maritza Quiroz, a 60-year-old social leader who was a deputy on the Victim´s Board (representing victims of the conflict in the region) in Santa Marta. Her work was focused on helping Afro-Colombian women who suffered displacement and being the leading voice of her community with the government. Maritza suffered displacement in her native land in Valledupar and years later her husband was murdered by insurgents in San Pedro de la Sierra, which forced her to flee to Santa Marta. In 2013, Maritza applied to a governmental program where she received help from the National Agency of Lands, which assigned her (along with nine other women) a piece of land in San Isidro de la Sierra. There, she decided to be a voice not only for her new community but also to all the people who experienced displacement or violence, and likewise to defend women’s rights around the city; that’s how she became a social leader. Nevertheless, even though Maritza contributed a lot of hard work and improvement to the community, there had reportedly been threats by insurgents due to her willingness for making change in her village. In January 2019, Maritza was murdered at her home, reportedly by neo-paramilitary structures operating in the region. According to a local news source, this unique woman was a victim of Los Pachencas, because she had dismantled a structure on her land in order to protect her homeland from drug trafficking, and also the fact that her current social work was a risk to the intimidation that this organization wants to prevail inside the communities. Furthermore, national papers and other researchers believe that Maritza was another victim of the dynamics of assassinations of social leaders in the region. From that perspective, this brave woman was one of the other five social leaders that were killed in Colombia in just the first five days of 2019 owing to their work as human rights defenders, environmental protectors and local leaders, among others.
The next case is Wilton Orrego, a park ranger inside the National Natural Park of the Sierra Nevada who safeguarded the natural territory of the region, its natural beauty and the biodiversity of Santa Marta. Also, he reported the illegal uses of land near La Lengüeta such as drug trafficking (according to some researchers, the Sierra Nevada, where Wilton was murdered, is one of the natural parks that has illegal coca and marijuana crops due to the presence of armed groups in the zone), the pollution by industries, illegal occupation of the zone and illegal building inside the protected areas. In this case, this social leader was centered on the preservation of the department’s environment from illicit activities such as the ones mentioned. Reportedly, he too became the prey of Los Panchencas, owing to their intention of acquiring more presence in those territories for their further exploitation, or for them not wanting to see changes in the area which may affect their interests. La Lengüeta is a strategic zone for its fertile lands to farm coca leaves and for trafficking wood and cocaine, very lucrative ventures for these organizations; because of this, Orrego was murdered. Wilton was shot dead near the area of Perico Aguao. Curiously, this is also where the bodies of environmentalists Natalia Jimenez and Rodrigo Monsalve were found in December 2019. That case was judged to be a robbery but it seems strange that both these crimes occurred in this specific area; an area which is under the control of illegal groups such as Los Pachencas. Indeed, the killings in this particular stretch of Magdalena continue to occur with environmental and local leader Alejandro Llinás, who had submitted complaints over the handling of tourism within the protected areas and had also spoken out against the influence of neo-paramilitaries in the area, was shot dead at his farm near Calabazo on April 14th 2020.
Finally, there was the case of Yoryanis Isabel Bernal, an indigenous social leader of the wiwa community and a member of the Golkushe Human Rights group. Even though she was killed in Valledupar, Cesar, her work involved representing valuable indigenous communities in Magdalena. This woman was not only a bridge between the government and multiple indigenous communities, but also a passionate defender of women’s rights and a guardian of nature. Undoubtedly, her death can be linked to the dynamics of repression that paramilitaries and guerrillas demonstrate; since the beginning of the conflict in Magdalena, indigenous communities have been probably the most affected ones, considering their territories are located in key zones that facilitate the illicit practices of these groups and the lack of importance that they are really given by the State. Yoryanis was killed by an ex-member of Los Paisas, who allegedly tried to make it look like a robbery to mask the case so it would not be linked to the organization. It can be inferred that her death was planned because of how she encouraged indigenous communities to defend themselves and fight against every armed group that might try to harm their environment through practices such as the cultivation of drugs. Based on the three cases we looked at, it is pertinent to conclude that people who represent victims rights, protect biodiversity in the region and represent indigenous rights are viewed as an obstacle by the illegal powers in the area; something which should worry us all and should draw the attention of the State to make a proper intervention.
Patterns of social leaders deaths
The violations of the right to life of social leaders tend to be focused on certain areas of the country that have one or more of the following characteristics: A high correlation with the presence of paramilitary groups, correlation with zones affected by forced displacement, correlation with warned areas in risk reports and alerts from the Ombudsman’s Office and finally, a correlation between violations of the right to life and voting in the 2016 peace plebiscite.
The profile of some murdered social leaders highlights evidence of their participation in various organizations. Some of the previously mentioned cases before have these patterns, like Maritza’s case as she was a victim of displacement and then became a defender of female victims of displacement. The common pattern that we saw in all of the cases is somehow the involvement of paramilitary groups, either for threats to victims or for allegedly committing the crime. Another pattern that has not been mentioned before is that some of the deaths took place within the same area (area of Perico Aguao) and near to each other, as in the Wilton Orrego, and Natalia Jimenez/Rodrigo Monsalve cases. The area where these cases occurred is reportedly owned by an important landowner in Magdalena who has in the past had links with paramilitary groups. The protection of the natural resources of the Magdalena department is also hugely relevant because in the region, there can be found different types of resources that are only found there, and not in other parts of the country. Many social leaders such as Wilton Orrego and Yoryanis Isabel Bernal are defenders of nature of their region. Across all the country these patterns are a common denominator; other regions such as Cesar and Cordoba suffer the same problems that affect Magdalena too, such as criminal competition which means that one or more illegal groups tries to take down the main illegal group that has the hegemony in the territory.
Another pattern that can be visible in those departments are that they are marginalized from the central government and that explains why those are regions left behind by the state and living a power vacuum. The central government knows that these regions are very rich in natural resources for the country, and yet they continue to leave them behind and this causes all the phenomens that those departments suffer. This power vacuum from the central government continues in Magdalena even though, in the 2016 plebiscite, the departments that were mostly affected by the conflict voted yes to the signing of the peace treaty because of what they had suffered due to the war. Such was the case with many parts of the Magdalena department. But those who voted no, which were located in the urban areas and did not suffer as many consequences as those who lived in rural areas, won the plebiscite. Since then the government continues leaving behind those actors that were the victims. Such actions do not take into account future consequences, such as the murder of social leaders in these forgotten regions.
The way forward?
We have seen that the central government has a lack of presence in the department of Magdalena, allowing different armed groups such as the ELN, paramilitary groups, and BACRIM to be present in the region. Social leaders deaths are the result of the lack of presence of the State, because this gives armed groups the opportunity to commit their crimes without any pressure of the State and also permits them to get away with their crimes. If the government would take necessary action whenever a social leader was at risk and threatened, many deaths could be prevented, but the absence of protection of social leaders around Colombia is a daily fact. Those social leaders that continue with their jobs of protecting their communities and denounce criminal activities in their region, live in constant fear for their lives. Because they never know if they are going to be the next victim.
Different groups have economic and political interest in this region due to geostrategic location in the country and all of the natural resources that are found in the department. That’s why many social leaders are at risk, due to the groups that have interest in the area, so those who denounce the things that are wrong such as Maritza Quiroz, Wilton Orrego and Yoryanis Isabel Berna face fatal consequences.
These social leader killings can be solved, but only if the government take more account of the work of the social leaders and give them the attention they deserve because of the labor they do in their communities. The government could create a special law that investigates and sanctions those crimes against social leaders. With this, the number of cases of killings related to social leaders could be reduced and people could understand how and why social leaders are being killed.
Finally, the department has one of the most important national parks in the country that carries a lot of cultural heritage of the country, a lot of natural landscapes that are unique in the country; for example the Sierra Nevada and the pristine beaches. The indigenous groups that are found in the region are an important part of Colombia’s past and present cultural identity. Therefore, the government needs to make sure that those social leaders that fight for the department are safe and are allowed to accomplish their work without any problem.
*Article written by Natalia Beltran, Maria Paula Corona & Maria Camila Martinez
Information for this article came from the following sources:
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