Excmo. Sr. Presidente Iván Duque Márquez, President of the Republic of Colombia
Sr. Fiscal General Francisco Barbosa Delgado, Attorney General of Colombia
March 11, 2021
Dear Sirs:
We are horrified at the massacre of five farm workers on February 17 in the Tapartó zone of the town of Andes in Antioquia Department. At least five hooded armed men broke into a coffee farm at about 3:00am, forced workers who were asleep to leave their bedrooms, then interrogated and tortured them before killing them.
This is the latest in a recent series of massacres in Colombia. Antioquia Department has been the hardest hit by the wave of killings and threats, which include the following that occurred in February alone:
February 2 Óscar Mira, age 59, former mayor of Yarí (2001-2003 and 2008-2011), was shot dead outside his parents’ house after receiving multiple threats and having survived two recent attacks.
February 9 121 new teachers were prevented from beginning their positions in Ituango because they received threats from armed groups operating in the zone.
Feburary 12 The body of Juan Carlos Correa Restrepo, former FARC member, was found in San Andrés de Cuerquía after he had been abducted on January 23.
February 15 Resident of the indigenous reserve Los Almendros, Orlando Manuel Chimá, age 22, was shot and killed in confrontations between the army and an armed group in Cáceres. He was training to join the indigenous community unarmed guard who provide security but carry only traditional wooden batons.
February 27 Two weeks after residents of Murindó staged protests over violence in the zone, Plinio Dogarí Majoré, a 13-year-old Embera indigenous boy, lost his leg after standing on a landmine in Murindó. A teacher who was with him was injured. Landmines and fighting between paramilitaries and other armed groups have been a major threat to the community, resulting in their forced confinement and displacement.
Antioquia is an especially vulnerable area because of the predominant presence of the paramilitary group Clan del Golfo (Gulf Clan) that controls the bulk of cocaine production and uses violence and intimidation in conflicts over narcotics trafficking routes and cocaine processing laboratories. Because of the increasing instability in northern Antioquia, particularly in Ituango, we strongly urge that you
- take all necessary steps to fully implement the 2016 Peace Accords
- immediately finalize the National Commission on Security Guarantees’ public policy for dismantling armed groups and their networks
- strengthen the Special Investigation Unit to identify and prosecute both the material assailants and intellectual authors of attacks on human rights defenders and former combatants
Sincerely,
Brian J. Stefan Szittai and Christine Stonebraker-Martínez
Co-Coordinators
copies:
Francisco Santos Calderón, Ambassador of Colombia to the US ~ via email, US mail
IACHR: Antonia Urrejola Noguera, Rapporteur for Colombia, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ~ via email, US mail
UN: Juliette De Rivero, Representative in Colombia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ~ via email
US Embassy: Kristen Farrell (human rights) and Mariel Chatman (vulnerable populations) ~ via email
US State Department: Christine Russell, Desk Officer for Colombia ~ via email
US Senators Brown & Portman ~ via email
US Representatives Beatty, Fudge, Gibbs, Gonzalez, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Kaptur, Latta, Ryan ~ via email
01 MAR 2021_JFC_Colombia
