Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared on Monday the state of internal commotion, following the combats waged by armed groups in the northeast of the country, the border area with Venezuela. which has left at least 80 dead and 11,000 displaced in the last four days, according to official figures.
“The state of internal commotion and the state of economic emergency are declared. I expect your support from the judiciary,” said the president, through his X account.
“Military takeover will always develop with the economic transformation of regions under violence,” he added this Monday.
The internal commotion enables the government to take exceptional measures, through special powers to face threats and that allow it to prepare decrees with the force of law, in an extraordinary scenario, for a validity of no more than 90 days, extendable for up to another period. two equal periods, if the Senate so approves.
Likewise, the president announced the state of economic emergency, which will allow him to quickly allocate financial resources to the region.
The president must sign a decree declaring the internal commotion, which all his ministers must sign, which will come into force because it is an urgent situation, but will then be reviewed by the Constitutional Court.
Offensive actions
Petro had earlier warned the National Liberation Army guerrilla that he will order offensive actions after the wave of violence in this region.
“The ELN has chosen the path of war and it will have war,” said Petro from his of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that did not accept the 2016 peace agreement.
In the face of violence, Petro decided on Friday to suspend for the second time in less than a year the peace talks with the ELN since they started with the current government in November 2022.
At least 80 people have died, according to reports from the governorate of Norte de Santander, where Catatumbo is located, and 11,000 have been displaced to protect their lives towards the main city of Cúcuta and Ocaña – the main municipality of Catatumbo – according to the State Ombudsman.
Among the dead, authorities have reported at least seven peace signatories who accepted the historic agreement signed between the FARC and the State eight years ago. The authorities have not detailed how many of the dead are civilians and how many are active combatants from both armed groups.
The top commander of the ELN, alias “Antonio García,” said on Monday from his weapons again, carrying out activities under military command.”
The violence, which the government has said is driven primarily by the ELN, was unleashed by an attempt to take control over the strategic territory of Catatumbo and its illicit economies such as drug trafficking. Analysts have said that there was a truce between the two armed groups that was broken.
Petro compared the ELN to paramilitary groups that two decades ago also acted violently in Catatumbo, stating that the guerrilla mobilized troops from another department for the confrontations. “The massacre committed by the ELN with forces brought from Arauca to Catatumbo perfectly reflects the actions of the paramilitary groups.”
Meanwhile, dozens of people dressed in white t-shirts and holding balloons of the same color walked through the streets of a small town in Catatumbo on Monday to ask for “peace.”
“El Catatumbo needs peace, La Gabarra needs peace!”, they said in unison from La Gabarra, a township in the municipality of Tibú where in recent days the community has lived in the midst of anxiety due to the clashes.
The Ombudsman’s Office assured that in addition to the displaced there are people confined within the municipalities of Catatumbo and risk of displacement of indigenous communities in the area. Also that “kidnappings and general intimidation against the civilian population continue.”
More than 200 people have been evacuated from Catatumbo by the army and the police, including dozens of peace signatories who fear for their lives.
[Con información de AP y la colaboración de Karen Sánchez, periodista de la VOA, desde Bogotá]
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