Human Rights Violations in the Magdalena Medio during the first half of 1999

Translated by Colombia Support Network

Listing by Community

Barrancabermeja: Jan. 27, Feb. 28, Mar. 26, June 14, June 19
Puerto Wilches: Jan. 6, Jan. 17, Feb. 4
Morales: Apr. 2
San Martin de Loba: Jan. 19
San Pablo: Jan. 8, Jan. 11, Feb. 18, Mar. 22, Apr. 19, Apr. 25, May 3
Simiti: Mar. 20

The situation of threats, systematic harrassment, massacres, disappearances and executions againt the citizens of the Magdalena Medio area has provoked forced displacement and the silencing of hundreds of families to whom President Pastrana had committed himself to protect and provide needed guarantees for their physical psychological safety, through negociations for the return of the campesinos from the south of Bolívar and the Valley of Cimitarra, on the 4th of October, 1998, after the signing of the agreements of the "Magdalena Medio Permanent Working Table for Peace". The signing of the agreements was responded to with a barbaric action on the part of the paramilitaries which have resulted so far in 250 victims within the civilian population in the first 6 months of this year.

January 6, Puerto Wilches

ADMM paramilitaries threatened with death 5 workers of this municipality and members of the workers union of this entity. In the threat directed against the unionists they were warned: "because you are auxilliaries of the guerrilla you have 60 days to get out of town or you will be dead men". This event generated resistance and anxiety within the municipal administration who called for support from the international Red Cross, the Diocese of Barrancabermeja and the NGO, CREDHOS, which defends human rights, to confront the situation.
Those presumed responsibleACMM
Human rights violationsThreats of political persecution
Violations of IHRThreats
Victims NICANOR ARCINIEGAS
GUSTAVO PEREZ
ARNULFO SANCHEZ
ELIAS QUINTANA
MOISES VELASQUEZ

January 8, San Pablo

As of midnight, approximately 40 paramilitaries of the AUC in two boats attached the wharf of this municipality on the rio Magdalena. The military operations divided up into groups who moved through the main street of the town, lining up against the walls to signal their presence. The paramilitaries, in military garb, had their faces painted black and wore purple armbands. According to the official version " the men carried long-range and short-range weapons, night vision equipment and, M-60 machine guns". With a list in hand they entered the billiard parlour Puerto Amor and the soda shop El Paraíso where they order those within to line up against the wall and proceeded to execute eleven people from both establishments.

Among the victims were workers, candidates for the municipal government and previous mayors. Afterwards the paramilitaries proceeded to force their way into another soda shop called "El Espejo" with the use of a grenade, in which they obliged those who had not managed to escape to lie down on the floor after which they executed three more people and seriously wounded another three. As well much material damage was done to the three establishments in which the executions took place. Meanwhile, another group of paramilitaries posted itself near the police station where 20 policemen where quartered and proceeded to shoot into the air. During the time of the paramilitary attack on the town, navy and army forces withdrew from the area and the police remained hidden within the station.

Finally, the paramilitary operation went to the home of the public defender Eives Giraldo, who was not home, so they took away his brother instead in front of the latter's family. The victim would be set free within a few days. Forty minutes after the beginning of the operation the paramilitaries returned to their boats and left on the Magdalena river. The operation in considered, in official versions, as a retaliation against the municipality for being a stopover during last year's campesino exodus towards Barrancabermeja.

Presumed responsibleAUC
Human Rights ViolationExtrajudicial executions as political persecution.
Infractions of IHRIntentional homicide of protected persons
Victims VICENTE GUAITEROS
JOSE DANIEL AYALA AVELLANEDA
RAMIRO DEL CRISTO ULLOA MORENO
RAMIRO VELASQUEZ LOPEZ
FABIAN RODRIGUEZ CARCAMO
RUBEN DARIO ENCISO ULLOA
MATIAS ANTONIO DIAZ MARTINEZ
MYRIAM RIOBO
OLIMPO FUENTES
REINALDO JIMENEZ QUINTERO
LUIS ALBERTO SERENO RAVELO
CLAUDIO LIEVANO MORENO
Two unidentified persons
Human Rights ViolationWounding as political persecution
Infractions of IHRIntentional wounding of protected persons
Victims CARLOS ARTURO MATIS
ISRAEL FUENTES ORTEGA
One unidentified person
Human Rights ViolationForced disappearance as political persecution
Victims LUIS ARMANDO GIRALDO ESCUDERO
Infraction against IHRCivilian property

January 11, San Pablo

Paramilitaries threatened the life of a CREDHOS promotor in this municipality, who was forced to leave town with his family. CREDHOS denounced the fact that the victim appeared on a list of civilians of the area to be executed and demanded that the national government guarantee to protect its work in the region.
Presumed responsibleParamilitaries
Human Rights ViolationThreats as political persecution
Infractions of IHRThreats
Forced displacement

January 17, Puerto Wilches

Paramilitaries of the Autodefensas of Santander y South of Cesar, AUSAC, threathened the lives of four municipal counsellors, two business owners and two unionists, who were forced to flee the area and move to other parts of the country. With them, the number of people forced to leave the area for the same reason rises to fifteen.
Presumed responsibleAUSAC
Violation of human rightsThreats as political persecution
Infractions of IHRThreats
Forced displacement
Victims: JORGE ALCOCER OMAR BOHORQUEZ LEDINSON BOLAÑOS SANDALIO DURAN JORGE ELIAS ENRIQUE MACIAS CARLOS RANGEL ADOLFO ESCOBAR

January 19, San Martin de Loba

Members of an armed group assassinated one person in an unspecified location in this Municipality.
Socio-political ViolenceAssassination as political persecution
Victims NARCISO PEREZ

January 27, Barrancabermeja

Various armed men forcefully removed a youth of 23 years from a house in the barrio of Torcoroma, whose corpse, riddles with five bullets was found later in a street of the barrio La Paz.
Socio-political violenceAssassination as political persecution
Victims VICTOR MARIO GOMEZ SANCHEZ

February 4, Puerto Wilches

Heavily armed paramilitaries executed a teacher with 5 bullets to the head on the road to the police stations of Vijagual and Carpintero.
Presumed responsible Paramilitaries
Violations of human rights Extrajudicial execution as political persecution
Infraction of IHR Intentional homicide of a protected person
Victims EUGENIO ESCOBAR AHUMADA

February 18, San Pablo

Unindentified men burst into an establishment on the central square of this municipality as of 6:30 p.m., repeatedly shooting at a candidate for the Council, wounding him as well as a twelve year old child, and killing a person who was accompanying the candidate.
Social-political violence Assassination as political persecution
Victim JORGE EMILIO JACOME
Wounding as political persecution ABIGAIL PEDROZA
One unidentified person

February 28, Barrancabermeja

Between 15 and 20 heavily armed paramilitaries, lead by (alias) "The Baker", who were transported in three trucks, one grey, one gree and one red, executed 9 people, wounded two and kidnapped two other in various sectors. At 5 p.m., the paramilitaries arrived at the barrio of Provivienda at 52th street with Av. 32 and executed Elio Mejía and Orlando Forero and wounded Pedro Palacio.

Immediately after, they continued on their way to the barrio Versalles, where they executed Israel Ariza. Afterwards they continued towards a road that runs between Barrancabermeja and Puerto Wilches and in the barrio of San Silvestre they executed Leonardo Guzmàn. Two hundred metres further on they executed the taxi driver Darío Hernandez, driver of the vehicle XWB – 014 and the internal radio taxi number 390.

Afterwards, they arrived at the roadhouse El Rancho and executed two merchants, William Rojas and Oscar Manuel Barrozo. Further up from the recreation centre Cafaba, they executed another merchant, Jesús Daniel Gil. During its flight they took with them Parmenio Terrazas who was removed from his home by force in the barrio Versalles and whose body was found two days later, upon which could be seen signs of torture. Missing are the taxi driver Miguel Angel Cifuentes, driver of the vehicle 320, plates XWB – 563 and Edgar Sierra, cultural, art and folkore worker and member of the youth movement of the Popular Women's Organization. After its death tour the paramilitary group took the road towards Puerto Wilches, stopping at a military roadblock located after the police station at El Llanito, where they identified themselves at members of the police and continued on their way.

Presumed responsible Paramilitaries
Violations of human rights Extrajudicial execution as political persecution
Infractions of IHR Intentional homicide of protected persons
Victims ELIO MEJIA CASTELLANOS
ORLANDO FORERO TARAZONA
ISRAEL ARIZA OCHOA
LEONARDO GUZMAN MARTINEZ
DARIO HERNANDEZ
WILLIAM ROJAS ZULETA
OSCAR MANUEL BARROZO
JESUS DANIEL GIL
Violations of human rights Torture as political persecution
Extrajudicial execution as political persecution
Infractions of IHR Intentional homicide of protected persons
Torture
Victim PARMENIO TERAZAS ZULETA
Violations of human rights Forced disapperance as political persecution
Victims MIGUEL ANGEL CIFUENTES
EDGAR SIERRA
Violations of human rights Wounding as political persecution
Victims PEDRO PALACIO
WILSON SANCHEZ

March 20, Simiti

Paramilitaries from the Autodefensas of Santander and South of Cesar, carrying long and short-range weapons executed two persons. The bodies of the victims, displaying evidence of torture, were found on the road from Simiti to the rural area of Cerro de Burgos.
Presumed responsible AUSAC
Violations of human rights Extrajudicial execution as political persecution
Torture as political persecution
Infractions to IHR Intentional homicide of protected persons
Torture
Victims 2 unidentified persons

March 22, San Pablo

Armed men assassinated a campesino with a shot to the head.
Social-political violence Assassination as political persecution
Victim AMOBIS CORRALES BAYONA

March 26, Barrancabermeja

Some armed and hooded men, travelling by taxi, assessinated a worker from the Water Purification Plant, Edasaba, of Barrancabermeja, by a number of shots, mostly to the head, in the north east sector of the city.
Social-political violence Assassination as political persecution
Victim PABLO GUTIERREZ MORALES

April 2, Morales

Heavily armed men assassinated a man and in son in a billiard parlor in the rural area of Moralito. The vicitms worked in the transport of passengers in this municipality.
Social-political violence Assassination as political persecution
Victims GILDARDO OQUENDO
PARMENIO OQUENDO

April 19, San Pablo

Paramilitaries tortured and executed two agricultural workers and a fisherman, who were forcibly removed from a billiard parlor. Their bodies were found the next day in the rural area of Cauises, 10 minutes away from town.
Presumed responsible Paramilitaries
Human rights violations Extrajudicial execution as political persecution
Torture as political persecution
Infractions of IHR Intentional homicide of protected persons
Torture
Victims ERNESTO FERNANDEZ BOTERO
ISAAC RINCON SIERRA
AUFRODIS DURAN RODRIGUEZ

April 25, San Pablo

Paramilitaries have tortured some inhabitants of this municipality. Sources confirm that the paramilitaries charge taxes on basic necessities and the community has denounced meetings to which they are obligatorily summoned and that people have been forcibly removed from their homes, their bodies later being found with signs of torture. Sources add that the paramilitary base is located 150 metres from the centre of this municipality in a location called El Basurero (the Garbage Dump?). (The following sentence is not clear.) En this part of the country there is presently a confrontation between the guerrilla of the UC–ELN and the armed forces because of the kidnapping of the Avianca flight passengers.
Presumed responsible Paramilitaries
Human rights violations Threats to community as political persecution
Infractions of IHR Community Threatened

May 3, San Pablo

Paramilitaries executed a campesino leader with a shot to the head.
Presumed responsible Paramilitaries
Human rights violations Extrajudical execution as political persecution
Infractions to IHR Intentional homicide of a protected person
Victims LUZ MARINA TORRES NARVAEZ

June 14, Barrancabermeja

AUSAC paramilitaries threatened the life of mayor Elkin David Bueno Altahona and the municipal council, after accusing them of dealing with the guerilla. In a communique signed by (alias) "Kamilo Morantes" they expressed the "hope that changes and corrections would be made on the part of the mayor's office and the Municipal Council, otherwise measures would be taken in relation to this".
Presumed responsible AUSAC
Human rights violations Threats as political persecution
Infractions of IHR Threats
Victims ELKIN DAVID BUENO ALTAHONA
Human Rights Violations Community threatened as political persecution
Infractions of IHR Community threatened
Victim Municipal Council

June 19, Barrancabermeja

Unidentified men assassinated a 33 year-old man, with 19 gun shots. This occured in 20th St., #51-56, in the barrio Colombia.
Social-political violence Assassination as political persecution
Victim HERNANDO PADILLA ROBLES

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