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Oscar Domicó Domicó
The purpose of this article is to provide context on the situation in the southern region of Cordoba regarding the ongoing murders of social leaders, human rights violations and the presence of armed groups in the territory. Moreover, it aims to highlight the passing of Oscar Domicó last June and aims to present a relation between this case and the situation experienced in the region where he was killed. When referring to the human rights situation in Colombia, it has become unimaginable to omit the problematic situation regarding social leaders. Our intent is to focus on the situation of human rights defenders, who have suffered consequences due to “mysterious” circumstances not recognized by the State.
This situation has no precedent in terms of the nature of the people who are being killed, however, regrettably, some have more impact than others, for example: LGBTI defenders, and indigenous leaders, among others (UN Annual Report on Human Rights in Colombia, 2020). To our consideration, the previous premise allows for no justice to the valuable effort and input social leaders as a whole have set in society due to their efforts which built a legacy in the communities they supported. We consider that they help build a heritage of positivity in their communities. This is because regularly municipalities around conflicted areas are marked by a high level of multidimensional poverty, endemic violence, the presence of paramilitary groups and criminal groups, who fight to control drug trafficking, illegal mining and smuggling of migrants; so these social leaders provide a sense of hope to communities who need it most. However, even though they represent longing for peace and safety in the region, most of the time illegal interests have more weight than the population’s desires, but that does not mean that social leaders are not a threat to paramilitary and criminal groups since they have opposite interests for the region and its population. Evidently, the role of the social leader is linked to the protection of the community, and with the presence of these illegal actors in the area, that complicates the situation by generating a clash that often puts the lives of these people at risk.
As the UN Annual Report on Human Rights in Colombia (2020) expresses, to be an advocate for human rights in Colombia is: “… with no doubt considered a high-risk activity”. Moreover, in 2019 the OHCHR documented 108 killings of human rights defenders, including 15 women and two LGBTI defenders (UN Annual Report on Human Rights in Colombia, 2020). These statistics convey the gravity of the problem, since they contribute clear evidence of the violence against human rights defenders. Likewise, the report made by the OHCHR in 2019, found in the UN Annual Report on Human Rights in Colombia (2020), also mentions how people in vulnerable regions have no other option than to prepare themselves, in case the act of self defense was necessary at a given moment. On the other hand, it seems that increased militarization is inappropriate in such circumstances. According to police statistics, homicides have increased in municipalities such as Arauca, Norte de Cauca, Catatumbo and the south of Córdoba despite an increased military presence. It is this last region, the south of Córdoba, which is of most interest for the purpose of this article.
In Colombia, the region of Córdoba has had a background of influence of armed competition for criminal hegemony since it boasts many strategic places which have an importance in drug trafficking, for example, the Nudo del Paramillo. The previous region is a biodiverse network, rich in waters, fauna and flora, with unique species in the country, that occupies a wide area of the departments of Antioquia and Córdoba, representing a route for drugs and also due to its mountains, whose heights range between 800 and 2,500 meters above sea level a great place to cultivate and hide illicit crops. Even though Córdoba is known for those activities, its south, which is made up of five municipalities (Montelíbano, Puerto Libertador, Tierralta, Valencia and San José de Ure), is recognized as being particularly dangerous. According to Irréno and Martínez (2018) due to its geographical conditions, the South of Córdoba has been an axis subregion of the armed conflict, since it connects areas of crops and centers for the production and collection of cocaine hydrochloride with transport of routes for export. It has also had the presence of illegal groups such as the EPL, FARC-EP guerrillas, Autodefensas Campesinas de Córdoba y Urabá (ACCU) and the AUC and post-AUC groups like Los Rastrojos, AGC and Los Caparros. Moreover, Córdoba is one of the most abandoned territories of Colombia and is faced with several challenges such as inequality, corruption, and lack of infrastructure. We must take into account that the dynamics of violence were expected to settle down after the peace treaty but have not ceased. However, many mention that the Bajo Cauca area of Antioquia has an influence on the violent dynamics of the subregion since there is a natural connection to it.
It is important to consider that the conflict in the south of Cordoba is mainly determined by three elements. First, the permanent confrontation between public forces and the armed actors (specifically the AGC) in the middle of Operation Agamen on II. This is a police-military operation aimed at dismantling the AGC and which is being conducted mainly in the area of Uraba, the main base of this armed group. Secondly, because of the dispute over territorial control in which the three organized crime groups have had presence in the region. Finally, due to the violent situation that comes from Bajo Cauca, that necessarily affects the regional logic. Therefore, as well as in the south of Cesar, and south of Bolivar, armed violence holds independent logics which are not necessarily related directly with the rest of the conflicts that stay active in the Caribbean (Trejos, 2019). Unfortunately, the region of Córdoba is immersed in corruption as well since there have been several scandals surrounding this type of activities by representatives of the region, for example, Eleonora Pineda’s case as an ex-Congresswoman prosecuted for her relationship with para-militarism, the case of Carlos Nader Simmonds, an ex-congressman prosecuted in the United States for drug trafficking (El Tiempo, 2017) and Miguel A. De La Espriella, Cordoba’s representative in National Congress, who was accused of para-political related policy and illegal crop businesses due to the ex-Senator being linked with “Mancuso” and Carlos Castaño, both notorious former paramilitary leaders. In spite of the previous accusations, the national government has not made any sort of statement in regards to the situation lived by the population in the south of Córdoba nor their needs, which has fed the conspiracy theories of the government and its links to paramilitary groups or even drug trade activities. Thus, the possibility of the government being linked to these activities makes the work of indigenous and rural leaders particularly dangerous as well as faithless for many. One example, from the hundreds which sadly affect the country each year was the killing of Óscar Dicto Domicó Domicó.
Óscar Dicto Domicó Domicó, 40 years old, was an indigenous leader who worked as coordinator of the indigenous guard of the Embera reservation in Alto Sinú, Córdoba. He lived in the village of El Banquito, a rural area of the municipality of Tierralta, in the south of the department. He was stabbed to death by unknown assailants on June 3, 2020. Domicó belonged to several indigenous councils of the Embera community, and there were no known problems in relation to his leadership within the communities. He was also a hard-working person who depended on his crops such as yucca and rice. Although there are not many details about his death, the victim’s background includes a complaint for non-food assistance. This complaint was filed in connection with the promised food aid by the Interior Minister, Camilo Berrocal in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. People in the region had no resources to support their needs and with their situation critical as they had to observe the quarantine in their homes. Of course the quarantine experience for ethnic and community leaders in Colombia contained an additional factor; they continued to be targeted and attacked. El Tiempo pointed out that “from March 6 (date when the first case of Covid-19 was registered in Colombia) to May 7, 32 social leaders and human rights defenders have been killed with 19 since the national confinement on 23 March”. However, such figures tend to coincide with the worrying statistics regarding such attacks over the past few years with almost 1,000 social leaders, human rights defenders, trade unionists and ex-combatants of the FARC being killed since the signing of the peace agreement in 2016 (Indepaz). Of the social leaders killed, indigenous leaders make up 25% of the total. While most of these killings have taken place in the departments of Cauca, Chocó and Nariño, Córdoba has suffered too with close to 45 leaders murdered. Although many of these cases have involved community and rural leaders, indigenous leaders have also been killed with one previous example being the murder of Julio Cesar Monsalvo in June 2018 near to Montelíbano, Córdoba. Córdoba, and in particular the south of the department, is characterized by a rigid and dangerous environment, where inequality and corruption allow illicit and illegal activities to be carried out constantly. Leaders who try to protect the interests of their communities in this scenario face a very really threat of violence, and many end up dead as Oscar did.
In conclusion, this article has allowed us to make a broad study based on the information found about social leaders and the human rights violations in Córdoba, as well as, the geography and vacuum of power that has had an impact on the region and its population. To create an environment in which the State is notable for its absence, adding guerrillas and paramilitary groups only jeopardizes the lives of many who live in the south of Cordoba and in other regions with similar characteristics. For starters, we focused on how the statistics show us the large number of victims since there are many social leaders that have gone through this situation, which sets the premise of how being an advocate for human rights or simply trying to represent your community’s best interests is without doubt a high-risk activity in Colombia . Afterwards, we reviewed the passing of the indigenous leader Óscar Dicto Domicó Domicó, an indigenous leader that worked as coordinator of the indigenous guard of the Embera reservation in Alto Sinú where he was murdered by unknown assailants on June 3, 2020. There are many debates of whether his cause of death was due to a complaint filed by him for non-food assistance to the State or illegal armed groups who are present and active in the region. In fact, it is important to mention that the region of Córdoba, where Domicó lived, has had a background of influence of armed competition for criminal hegemony since it has many strategic places which have an importance in drug trafficking. As Colombian citizens there are many questions that arise from this issue. After having taken a look at the situation of social leaders in Colombia, there are many gaps in the state’s lack of attention to not only the death of Oscar Domicó, but also the more than 100 social leaders killed so far this year. There is the question of whether the cause of Oscar Domicó’s is related to the abandonment of the State or if it is in regards to illicit and illegal activities which put him in jeopardy in the region. And finally there’s the question of who holds responsibility for the murders that have happened. Unfortunately, those are only a few of the many questions Colombians have in regards to the killings, however the most important one is regarding whether they will ever have justice.
*Article researched and written by Astrid Daza & Sofia Garzón
Information sourced from:
El Tiempo. “Indepaz: 94 líderes sociales y 24 ex-Farc han sido asesinados este año”. 7 de mayo de 2020. https://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/delitos/indepaz-94-lideres-asesinados-en-los-cuatro-primeros-meses-del-ano-492776
El Paramillo: Un Nudo difícil de Deshacer, (2016) Retrieved from: https://verdadabierta.com/el-paramillo-un-nudo-dificil-de-deshacer/
Irreno, Y., y Martínez, F. (2018). Dinámicas del Conflicto Armado en el Sur de Córdoba. Barranquilla: Centro de Pensamiento UNCaribe, Universidad del Norte.
Trejos, L., Badillo, R. Irreño, Y. (2019a). El Caribe colombiano: entre la construcción de paz y la persistencia del conflicto. JUŔIDICAS CUC, 15(1). 9-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.17981/juridcuc.15.1.2019.01
United Nations. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2009). Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (No. 64). UN.
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