Catatumbo mourns dead whose corpses can't even be picked up
The crisis that has broken out in Colombia's Catatumbo region is already having repercussions abroad, as Venezuela dealt through the weekend with the arrival of dozens of people fleeing the crossfire between the National Liberation Army (ELN in Spanish) and strong remnant groups of the extinct FARC-EP, formed by guerrillas who never laid down their arms or took them up again. These armed organizations are fighting for every inch of land in the region with the highest coca cultivation in the world, with more than 80 people killed since Thursday. Since the end of last year, the tension that characterized the fragile relations between the ELN and the FARC-EP dissidents was palpable, so any event could serve as fuel for everything to go to hell in places like the dystopian Tibú, in the department of Norte de Santander.
The murder of Miguel Angel López, a committed funeral home owner there, who allegedly committed the “sacrilege” of lifting the bodies of people killed by the ELN—accused of belonging to a division of the FARC-EP dissidents—, was the unhappy trigger by all accounts. “Gangs and illegal armed groups have begun to decide who gets buried and who doesn't,” reads an intelligence report cited by Colombian online magazine Semana. Along with López, his wife and their nine-month-old child were also killed. No group has claimed responsibility for the murder—rather, crossed accusations have been made—, but there is broad consensus that the ELN is the one to blame. “They imposed a war on us and we have to fight it”, says a commander of the FARC-EP whom the ELN is urging to surrender on pain of not letting blood stop flowing in Catatumbo.
A social leader linked to a national program seeking to change the productive matrix—centered on illicit crops—in places like Tibú, was murdered on the 18th and still, no one has gone to pick up his body. It seems there is no other brave mortician like López ready to do his work defying the armed groups' insane orders. The city of Cúcuta, the capital of the department, has received many of the thousands of people displaced by this violent escalation, but there are not enough resources for all of them. “We want to call on the solidarity of the people of Cúcuta. We need clothes in good condition, for women and men, new underwear, diapers, toiletries, if possible,” explained its mayor.
The government and the military force are focusing their efforts on establishing humanitarian corridors and providing other critical support to the population, but it is not in the discussion to go all out against the guerrilla groups to give the citizens a peaceful environment like the one they have not had during years of conflict, now overheated. “The priority is to save lives and guarantee the security of communities,” said the defense minister. “We have deployed our troops throughout the entire region.” As things stand, there is no clarity as to when we might see an improvement in this crisis within the great crisis. We only know it will not come out from the authorities.
These days the United Nations will evaluate precisely the state of compliance with the 2016 peace accords between the Colombian government and the disbanded FARC-EP, but also the compliance with the ceasefire between the Nariño House and the ELN. Five signatories of the peace agreement were killed in the first hours of the conflict breaking out in Norte de Santander, but it could be as many as seven. The region's longest active guerrillas claim they were operating with their rival's operatives. “The target of our actions are the armed group of the 33rd front of the ex-Farc, its armed militias, and its economic structure, therefore, the so-called 'peace signatories' who have [been killed] in the operations carried out were not civilians but active militia chiefs and those responsible for finances of the 33rd,” the ELN maintains. We will keep an eye on this issue.
There is some bromance here 👇?
For the first time in the US, a president-elect will receive foreign leaders at his inauguration.
— International Monitor (
Donald Trump invited China's Xi Jinping - who will send his vice president - and conservative world leaders such as Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Prime Minister… pic.twitter.com/GewMRhbYhb) January 20, 2025
The Aragua Train Saga, reloaded 👇
🚨 | Donald Trump afirma que erradicar a los miembros del Tren de Aragua será una de las prioridades de su gestión pic.twitter.com/FrdY0yitmX
— VOZ (@VozMediaUSA) January 19, 2025
And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.
