Colombia has enjoyed almost a decade of relative peace, but pockets of the country are still controlled by assorted left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug cartels.
Over the weekend, terrified residents carried backpacks and belongings on overladen motorcycles and boats, or crammed onto the backs of open trucks to flee the border region.
Colombian military General Erik Rodriguez said more than 19,800 people have now amassed at shelters in Tibu and other towns.
Others crossed the border to Venezuela — for some a return to a country from where they had fled economic and political upheaval.
“As a Colombian, it is painful for me to leave my country,” Geovanny Valero, a 45-year-old farmer who fled to Venezuela, told AFP, saying he hopes the situation will be “sorted out” so he can return.
Multiple fronts
On Monday, Colombia’s defense ministry also reported that 20 people had been killed in fighting between rival left-wing groups in the jungle-clad Amazon department of Guaviare.
The clashes involved rival FARC splinter groups — left-wing guerrillas who, unlike the rump Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, have not signed peace accords.
The clashes are a serious challenge for Petro who has backed a policy of “total peace” since he was elected in 2022.
In the face of fierce opposition, he launched negotiations with the various hardline armed groups that still control parts of Colombia.
Critics allege that his conciliatory approach has emboldened groups who are deeply involved in organized crime, and allowed them space to grow in power and influence.
A 2016 peace deal with FARC was hailed as a turning point in the six-decade-long conflict between Colombian security forces, guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs, which has left nearly half a million people dead.
But dissident factions continue to control territory in several parts of Colombia, the world’s biggest cocaine producer.
© 2025 AFP
