Colombia in conflict: attacks, drugs, armed forces

This is a photograph taken on October 23, 2021 of a military base in Necoclí, Colombia, where Colombia's most wanted drug lord, Dairo Antonio Ursuga (center), was captured. Usuga, alias "Ottoniere", is the leader of the Gulf Family, Colombia's largest drug trafficking organization. (Xinhua News Agency/Midland/Photo)

In recent times, Colombia, which is tens of thousands of kilometers away from China, has been full of gunfire.

On 28 April 2022, colombian defence forces were attacked. In the early days, on the evening of the 19th, a Colombian army also encountered a bomb attack in the northwestern province of Antioquia, killing at least 6 soldiers, wounding 5 soldiers and missing 1. The attacks were launched by drug cartels active in the region.

In addition, the Colombian capital Bogotá and the Tamé region of arauca province have also experienced a number of attacks.

Colombia is one of the most volatile countries in South America. "Almost every year in this country there are events that lead to social unrest." Wu Kang, who has lived in Colombia for many years, told Southern Weekend that locals have long been accustomed to the violence of attacks.

On April 12, the UNITED Nations Security Council held an open meeting on Colombia, and Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, attended the meeting and said that colombia will hold presidential elections in May 2022, hoping that the new government will continue to fully implement the peace agreement and work to solve the difficulties and challenges in the implementation of the agreement.

Violent crimes are frequent

Colombia is located in northwestern South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the north, bordering Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Panama.

In this country, violence and drugs have plagued the local population.

Zhu Danyang is currently a Spanish teacher at a university in Guangzhou and has worked at The University of Tadeo in Colombia for 3 years. She told Southern Weekend that she was living in the city's central district, bordering the slums of the southern district, where homeless people could be found everywhere. "You may encounter it when you go downstairs, and you need to close the entrance window tightly, and you dare not open the door to strangers easily." Zhu Danyang said.

China and Colombia established diplomatic relations in 1980 and are Colombia's second largest trading partners, and China-Colombia economic cooperation mainly involves oil exploration and development, telecommunications and other fields.

Zhu Danyang said that the locals feel that Chinese have money, and when they go out, they try to do "not expose their wealth." For example, headphones, wallets, do not take out your mobile phone on the street to take pictures, "it is best to use an old mobile phone to travel."

"When I walk down the street, I get people's attention." Wu Kang told southern weekend reporters that there are not many Chinese living in Colombia, although the security coefficient in commercial areas and high-end residential areas will be relatively high, but Chinese people cannot go out with a lot of cash.

"There is a great divide between rich and poor in Colombia." Zhu Danyang said that the rich class is mostly a family property, while the bottom often strikes and marches, and there are more problems, such as drug abuse, education, medical care, employment and so on.

On 17 April, militants attacked a vehicle carrying nine people, killing at least four people, including 2 children, and injuring some others in violence in the Tamé district of Arauca province. On the same day, a serious fire broke out at the headquarters of the Venezuelan consulate in Bogotá, and nearby residents saw the fire as high as 3 meters, which the Venezuelan government condemned as a "permanent burning".

Yu Zhijian, who has lived in Bogotá, colombia for ten years, told Southern Weekend that he lived in Venezuela for ten years before moving to Colombia. "Venezuela has millions of refugees in Colombia, and in order to survive, they have to do stealing." Yu Zhijian said that this is one of the factors affecting the daily security situation in Colombia.

Revenge of the "Breaking Bad"

"When I told my friends that I was going to live in Bogotá, almost without exception, they all looked at me with strange and playful eyes, some saying that they had prepared a ransom for me, and some even extended their thumbs and index fingers and put them in front of their mouths to make a cloud-swallowing spit." Zheng Huijian, who has worked in Bogotá, Colombia for 10 years, told Southern Weekend that when he made this decision, everyone around him felt "very dangerous."

Colombia has long given the impression of drugs and conflict.

Putumayo province is one of Colombia's most armed conflict-prone areas, with more than 22,000 hectares of coca plants and two armed groups vying for control of local drug trafficking.

Since the end of 2021, the two sides have clashed frequently, causing many casualties, including civilians. At the end of March 2022, the Colombian military conducted a military operation in Putumayo province that killed 11 people and captured 4.

The military then responded that the deceased was a far-flung FARC (FARC) dissident and that the incident was part of a clash between the military and militants. But witnesses posted on social platforms that civilians were among the dead, including an indigenous leader and a 16-year-old minor.

On April 12, 2022, Colombian President Duque responded to questions raised by the conflict when attending a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. He called the incident a normal military operation by the Colombian army, but it was "stigmatized."

Duke said drug trafficking is the biggest obstacle to peacebuilding in Colombia. Colombia has made some progress in eradicating drug trafficking, seizing 670 tons of drugs in 2021.

"Many parts of Colombia have been 'drugged.'" Wu Kang said that there are many drug crime groups and various violent criminal organizations such as rebels.

Late on the night of 8 April, in the Ittuango area in northern Antioquia province, a normal military vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, killing three soldiers and injuring ten others.

Just after the attack, the Colombian Army issued a statement saying that the military was conducting military operations on the ground and that the attack was likely to be retaliation for the military's clearance operation. On the same day, Duke also condemned the bombing attack against the military through his personal social media accounts, while expressing condolences and condolences to the families of dead and wounded soldiers.

Colombia's drug troubles date back 40 years.

Beginning in the 1980s, under the control of drug lord Pablo Escobar, Colombia's drug trade flourished, reaching out to every corner of society, further deepening the country's catastrophe.

On the night of April 19, 2022, in the northwestern province of Antioquia, a Colombian army was hit by a bomb attack, killing at least 6 soldiers, injuring 5 soldiers and missing 1.

The Colombian military issued a statement saying the bomb attack was carried out by the branch of the Gulf drug cartel Edwin Roman Vilasquez, the main purpose of which was to retaliate against the government forces' previous clearance of the drug cartel and the seizure of a large amount of cocaine.

According to the Russian satellite news agency on April 18, Colombian Defense Minister Diego Morano said the country's military and police had arrested Fausto Palacios, a leader of the "Gulf family" drug cartel.

The Gulf Family is by far Colombia's most powerful drug cartel, reaching more than three thousand members at its peak. After years of fighting, more than 1,200 people are still active, and their organizations operate in nearly one-third of Colombia's provinces.

Since the 1980s, Colombia has gradually become the world's largest producer of cocaine. Although the government has taken various measures to combat drugs, it has been repeatedly banned so far.

Zhu Danyang told the Southern Weekend reporter that in the local area, there are many examples of family destruction caused by excessive drug use. Delirium, joining criminal gangs, and disappearances are common. "There are a lot of students who also smoke marijuana and go to class, and you can smell them when you pass by."

"But because Colombia's industrial system is not developed, it cannot accommodate large-scale population employment." Zhu Danyang said that the life of the local people is not rich, but more and more difficult, and poverty makes people desperate to take risks and engage in drug trade.

Zheng Huijian also revealed that due to the turbulent political environment in the country, Colombia's drug development has been unbridled, and even the local army and armed groups have been involved in drug protection, because drugs are one of the main sources of income.

"The development of Colombia's drug economy is inseparable from the needs of foreign markets, especially in the United States." Zheng said some U.S. companies directly provide cannabis seeds to poor farmers and then let them sell the cannabis they grow to the United States. "It can be said that the United States controls the economic lifeblood of Colombia's resources, energy and other aspects."

Armed exchanges of fire continued

Meanwhile, clashes between Colombian guerrillas and government forces have persisted.

On March 26, 2022, an explosion occurred in bolivar, south of Bogotá, colombia, in which the perpetrators detonated more than 20 kilograms of explosives near a police station, killing 2 children and injuring 39 others. On the morning of the 28th, the "Govu" (FARC) claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Far-Limbed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is an important left-wing guerrilla in Latin American history and a typical example of the peasant rebels. Since its founding in 1964, Govu has engaged in more than half a century of confrontation with the Colombian government, which has become a "major problem" for the government.

At the end of 2016, the two sides formally signed a final peace agreement, marking the end of the Colombian civil war. However, the former Gowu leader, who was partially demobilized in 2019, announced the rearmament, and the risk of armed conflict suddenly emerged.

According to the Russian news agency reported on April 6, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir said that Venezuelan troops were operating on the Colombian border and engaged in an exchange of fire with illegal forces entrenched on the ground. Venezuelan forces killed a total of nine militants, destroyed six camps and arrested more than 30 others.

Venezuela's Bolivarian National Armed Forces said in a post on social networking sites on April 7 that it had sent additional troops, including a rapid reaction force, to the Appré region to combat illegal armed forces from neighboring Colombia.

Allegedly, the illegal armed forces entrenched on the border between Venezuela and Colombia come from the "Govu".

By 2020, there will be about 1,800 "Gewu" who continue to operate after the split, of which about 400 are new.

The half-century-long game between the Colombian governments of Govu and Colombia shows that it is difficult for the government to eradicate the rebels by military means, and the signing of the agreement does not mean that the momentum of armed conflict has disappeared.

In May 2022, Colombia will hold presidential elections, "the recent violent clashes have occurred frequently, and it has a lot to do with presidential elections." Yu Zhijian said that every four years, before the presidential election, there are often some violent activities, adding pressure to the election, and the opposition will even use these violent conflicts as evidence of a political chip to attack a political party.

Zhang Jun, China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said at the open meeting on colombia that he hoped That Colombia would speed up the implementation of land distribution and rural reforms for former armed personnel, expand basic social services in former conflict areas, and eliminate the root causes of violent conflicts.

In Colombia under conflict, it remains to be seen how the peace process will take.

Southern Weekend reporter Wang Yaolin