Several departments of the country have suffered the scourge of massacres, with Valle del Cauca being one of the most affected. Cauca It occupies second place, and not far behind are Antioquia, Norte de Santander and Magdalena.
The murder of four people in North of Santanderborder with Venezuela, whose bodies were found on an illegal road that connects the municipalities of Villa del Rosario and Los Patios, became the 37th massacre of 2024 in Colombia, according to the records of the Institute for Development and Peace, Indepaz, which alerts authorities throughout the country.
During this year the Cauca’s Valley has been the department most affected by this problem with seven reported massacres and 24 victims, the most recent case being the murder of three people on a public street in the Nuevo Horizonte neighborhood, in Florida, on June 14, when they were attacked by armed men traveling in a van, a case that remains under investigation.
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Although these crimes have multiple Causesare an exemplary type of violence, “what they seek is to send a message to both enemies and allies, generate territorial control and give a feeling of power,” explained Néstor Rosanía, an expert in security and armed conflict correspondent.
Therefore, according to Felipe Fernández, a security and peace consultant, these homicides simultaneous are the method of armed structures that seek to generate terror in the territory and Valle del Cauca is an important scene thanks to its connection and proximity to the department of Cauca.
“These facts are oriented to human rights defenders, social leaders or community leaders who in some way are in favor, for example, that these structures are not in their territories or the restitution of lands and substitution of crops,” explained Fernández.
Another reason for these crimes is that illegal armed groups classify the population as collaborators of a structure or otherwise, turning them into military targets, said the security and peace consultant.
It is for this reason that the Cauca It is the second department most affected by this scourge, since although the same number of massacres have occurred, there is one less victim in this area. Néstor Rosanía stated that the concentration of these crimes In the southwest of the country, this is due to the fact that 70% of the cocaine produced in Colombia leaves through this corridor, in addition to the revitalization of other portfolios of the illegal economy.
“There are leaders who have tried separate the communities from the issue of drug trafficking or avoid forced recruitment and that declares them as objectives,” added the researcher, maintaining that these leaders are punished by the groups. illegal because they are seen as allies of the State.
Therefore, even though there is no causalitythere is a correlation between the presence of armed structures and the increase in massacres in the territories, therefore, the runners border crossings must be prioritized by the authorities.
The departments of Antioquia, North of Santander and Magdalena are also affected by the massacres, with three cases each. For its part, in Atlántico, Chocó and Huila, two events have been recorded in each. In the case of Putumayo, Cesar, Bolívar, Casanare, RisaraldaBogotá, Guaviare and Caquetá a massacre has occurred.
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It should be noted that between 1 January and June 27 of last year there had been 47 massacres, ten more cases than in 2024, but according to experts It cannot be determined if this year will be less violent, since in recent months there is usually an escalation in conflicts.
To stop this trend Comprehensive protection policies must be intensified, since “avoiding massacres does not only correspond to police or military activity, but to the arrival of the State with all the offer and for that the Protection Plans were created Development with Territorial Focus, which have not been executed as expected,” said Néstor Rosanía.
Furthermore, it is necessary to strengthen the National Protection Unit which falls short of the demand, according to the researcher, because “it has been identified that while in the territories the threatened people are unprotected, in the capitals there is an excess of schemes unnecessary. Many of these massacres would be avoided if they had consolidated security schemes based on risk analysis,” he concluded.
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