The crime of a social leader, seven cases of confinement of communities, 10 burned vehicles, six acts of destruction to infrastructure, 18 terrorist acts and the closure of 23 transport terminals due to terrorist threats were some of the unfortunate events recorded during the armed strike of the Eln, which began on Wednesday and ended this Saturday afternoon.
The information was provided by the monitoring mechanism of the Investigation and Accusation Unit (UIA) of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).
(Also: The Eln set fire to a construction material company in Chiriguaná (Cesar))
These events were rejected by the population in general, both authorities and civil society, who even went out to march to demand that the attacks stop, as was the case in Buenaventura.
The murder of social leader Julio Victoria Cárdenas on Thursday night was denounced by the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz).
According to the institute, the victim was attacked with a firearm on the Litoral de San Juan, in Chocó.
Cárdenas was president of the board of directors of the General Community Council of San Juan (Acadesan) and of the community of Barrios Unidos in the Litoral San Juan. In addition, he was part of the Guardia Cimarrona del Chocó.
(Also read: Eln burned two more trucks in Pailitas (Cesar))
According to information from the authorities, in addition to the attacks and acts of violence, there are also Five armed attacks on the Public Force were recorded (two harassments, two ambushes and one combat).
ELN patrol in Tibú.
One of the attacks on structures with the greatest impact was on the Los Trujillos bridge, located at kilometer 44 of the Pailitas-Curumaní section (Cesar). The attack was one of those with the greatest impact, since this corridor is one of the most important for transit through the Caribbean region.
Authorities confirmed that while this structure is recovered, a semi-permanent metal bridge will be installed to recover road mobility for cargo carriers and other users.
The structure was transferred from Caldas and has a capacity of 52 tons for a traffic lane.
The installation is carried out by the National Institute of Roads (Invías), with the support of the National Army (Military Engineers), who will be in charge of moving personnel to the point.
(In context: Eln harassment against the National Army was recorded in Cesar)
The entity stressed that the assembly will be carried out in the scheduled time, as long as the weather and security conditions are adequate for this purpose.
“We are deploying all our operational capacity. We expect the bridge to be built by Thursday of this week at the latest and to be able to re-establish the passage”, explained Juan Esteban Gil, director of Invías.
This can also be taken as a call for the presidential candidates to take the issue into account, not to let the peace process with the ELN die.”
The road section is an important corridor of the Atlantic Coast where heavy cargo and passenger transport vehicles circulate.
At this time it is not disconnected, since due to the emergency of the Trujillos bridge, El Burro, Tamalameque (south of Cesar) and El Banco (Magdalena) were established as alternate routes.
From these points, the vehicles can be mobilized to Cuatro Vientos, Chiriguaná corregimiento (center of Cesar) and continue the route to other cities in the Caribbean region.
Despite the fact that there was accompaniment in the area by personnel from the Police, the Army and the Institute, in coordination with the authorities of Cesar and Norte de Santander, a new attack was recorded in Pailitas on Friday.
Two tractor-trailers that were traveling between the Palestina-El Burro highway were set on fire by the ELN after armed men intimidated the drivers and forced them to get off.
(Also: On video: driver begs members of the Eln not to burn his vehicle)
Constant attacks by the Eln guerrilla
Paola Perdomo, a national peace, post-conflict, and human rights researcher at the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation (Pares), pointed out that the country’s current electoral situation is not the reason why this armed strike was carried out, as has been said.
“These armed strikes by the Eln have been carried out constantly since the beginning of the year. Seeing it as something conjunctural due to the electoral year is not correct, it is a combination of a tradition that they have of starting the year like this to demonstrate that they have control and the power to generate anxiety”, indicated the expert.
According to Perdomo, these actions are part of a military strategy to advance in the territorial control of the areas that have historically been dominated by this group, as is the case of Norte de Santander, more precisely in the Catatumbo region, where this Friday He was able to see how members of this guerrilla roamed the streets of Tibú.
Truck burned on the Popayán – Cali road.
In the El 25 sector, on the road that connects to the village of La Gabarra, in the rural area of Tibú, some videos were recorded showing a group of armed men patrolling the village, while the peasants remain sheltered in their homes.
In one of the videos it is observed that at least ten men, with long-range weapons, walk on the side of the road. The subversives wear armbands with ELN insignia.
“Here they force us to lock ourselves up, the order is that we cannot open businesses and no one can leave for Cúcuta or Ocaña. Being on the road means risking having your car burned down or being killed,” narrated a Tibú inhabitant.
This event occurred hours after alleged members of the Eln intimidated the merchants of La Gabarra to force them to close their business premises. The roads inside the hamlet were blocked with tires that were incinerated.
(In other news: Buenaventura marched against the armed strike of the Eln and the violence)
It is not the first time that the ELN has carried out patrols in Catatumbo towns. The last case occurred in November 2021, when several armed men walked the streets of a commercial sector in the municipality of Convención.
“During the armed strike of 2020, it was possible to see how an advance was made towards the urban area of Cúcuta, these actions generate a collapse in the territories that allow these advances to be made,” said the Pares researcher.
Major General Ómar Sepúlveda, commander of the Army’s Second Division, indicated that between Wednesday and Friday alone, the ELN carried out 16 terrorist actions in Norte de Santander.
“The bandits of the Eln and the other armed groups have very clandestine urban cells. These cells are confused with the civilian population. They are actions of one or two bandits who place a box and run away,” said the senior officer.
The armed strike left a balance of more than 100 actions that affected civilians and damaged infrastructure.
(More information: Eln set fire to three trucks in Pailitas, Cesar)
Roads closed in several regions of the country
On Wednesday there were attacks on the Ruta del Sol roads, in Curumaní (Cesar); Panamericana, between Cali and Popayan; and the road between Bucaramanga and Bogotá.
As for the Panamericana, on Wednesday there were blockades due to a burned vehicle, but on Thursday it was clear. The same thing happened with the Bucaramanga-Bogotá road, which was the site of an explosion that left eight injured, but which worked normally on Thursday and Friday.
However, although the roads were clear and no major inconveniences were recorded, the number of travelers who used public and private transport on these roads decreased significantly.
(We also recommend: Governor of Sucre denounces ELN presence in La Mojana)
According to the UIA report, the terrorist acts were registered in 66 municipalities of 17 of the 32 departments of the country, the majority located in the Caribbean and Andean regions, the Pacific coast and some departments on the border with Venezuela and the Orinoquía, such as Arauca, Casanare and Vichada.
One of the main sectors affected by the ELN strike was transportation. In Bucaramanga, capital of Santander, the transport terminal reported a drop in the flow of passengers and dispatches due to violent actions perpetrated by the armed group. Around 900 people refrained from traveling by land according to authorities.
The Pares researcher pointed out that despite the fact that they are military actions that seek to demonstrate a destabilizing power, they can also be interpreted as a call to resume peace talks.
(Keep reading: Harassment against Police station and burning of vehicle in Nariño)
“This can also be taken as a call for the candidates to take the issue into account, not to let the process that they tried to start die, because it is clear that they have a significant destabilizing power in the areas that have historically dominated despite to the clashes that have been taking place with other armed groups,” says Perdomo.
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