Unknown gunmen assassinated the governor of an indigenous community in the town of Nasa – the first such murder in the department of Putumayo in nine months. The last time something of this nature occurred was on 15 July 2013, when the FARC murdered an indigenous governor of the Awá tribe. (see here for more on Political Violence).

Violence associated with the armed conflict Neoparamilitaries Our services ELN
Peace negotiations Political Violence Justice
Guerrilla Violence Land Restitution FARC
Violence associated with the armed conflict

FARC

Guerillas from the FARC’s 16th Front traded fire with the army in the town of Chaparral, Cumaribo municipality (Vichada). Two guerillas, “Faber” and “Wilmer 27”, were killed as a result.

On the road between Mercaderes and El Bordo (Cauca), guerrillas from the FARC’s 8th Front detonated an explosive along a bridge on the Pan-American Highway. No victims were reported, and the effected segment of the road has already been reopened.

Update: Yesterday’s Journal mentioned the death of four people in the municipality of San José del Guaviare. As of today, authorities have attributed these deaths to the FARC. One the victims – the taxi driver – was identified as Norberto Ramírez; the other three have yet to be identified.

ELN

A cattle-rancher, Luis Alberto Alvarez, was kidnapped by ELN guerrillas in the municipality of Saravena (Arauca). His current whereabouts are unknown.

Guerrilla Violence

Unidentified guerillas in the town of Tamacay, Tame municipality (Arauca), blocked the road between Tame and Arauca with a vehicle appearing to contain explosives. No victims have been reported as of yet.

Neoparamilitaries

No neoparamilitary activity has been recorded in the past 24 hours.

Political Violence

Unknown gunmen assassinated peasant leader Alfredo Guamanga in a rural area of Santa Rosa municipality (Cauca).

Unknown assailants assassinate indigenous governor of Nasa tribe

32-year old indigenous leader and governor, Luis Albeiro Guetio Zetti, was shot and killed in the town of Las Minas, a rural area in the municipality of Puerto Asís (Putumayo). The victim was also a Counselor of the Nasa Cxha Cxha community within the same municipality. His significant other confirmed that he had already received death threats and that his death was as a direct result of his role as Counselor.

 

Justice

The Supreme Court confirmed for a second time the sentencing of four members of the military to 40 years in prison for their role in the assassination of at least five peasant-farmers in three towns in Cajamarca municipality (Tolima). Each was killed sometime in the first week of November of 2003 by paramilitaries and members of the Colombian army.

Land Restitution

The National Land Restitution Unit called for the restitution of 1200 hectares of land to 400 claimants in the department of Valle del Cauca. The victims had been forcibly displaced by the paramilitary United Auto-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) under the leadership of “El Alacrán”. Said families were also awarded just over half a million dollars to finance productive projects on land returned to them.

Keeping apace with the Peace Negotiations

The most senior comandante of the ELN, Nicolás Rodríguez Bautista, alias “Gabino”, held an interview with the newspaper “Vanguardía Liberal”. During the interview, he reconfirmed the guerrilla group’s keen interest in reaching a peace agreement with the government, but claimed the latter had no interest in entering peace talks.

Gabino also confirmed the active presence of minors within the ELN. However, he claimed this was consistent with the group’s governing statutes which place the age of consent at 16. He also confirmed that in several rare cases, girls and orphan boys were part of the guerrilla outfit. He claimed that both groups, however, were prevented from taking part in the armed conflict. Finally, Gabino admitted that the ELN was currently holding hostages, but that the number was much lower than previously suspected by outside groups.

There have been no developments in the peace talks between the FARC and the government in the past 24 hours.

 

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