Around 20 families from the Poponte district, which is part of the municipality of Chiriguaná, Cesar, had to move, due to threats from an illegal armed group that commits crimes in that area of the department, to the capital Valledupar and other places in the department. National territory.
The unrest of those who abandoned their homes, belongings, crops and animals began on April 4, according to information collected by the Ombudsman’s Office, after Mr. José Luis Martínez, a farmer in the area, was murdered.
«The homicide, added to the circulation of an intimidating pamphlet in the territory where the forced displacement occurred, has the communities that reside in the place in an atmosphere of fear and anxiety. That is why it is imperative that the public force redouble their efforts and guarantee security in that Cesar territory, as well as that the competent government institutions protect the life, integrity and property of those affected,” is the call of the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo Assis.
It turned out that the group calling itself ‘Renacer of Poponte Revolutionary Organization’ would be responsible for the pamphlets, whose content declares several people from the community, who are dedicated to the tasks of the countryside, as military objectives. However, ELN guerrilla structures and FARC dissidents commit crimes in the area.
“The team of our Regional, Cesar, has received statements from the family units affected by the victimizing event, constituting a massive displacement, and the attention routes must be initiated before the corresponding state entities,” indicates the Ombudsman.
However, the Ombudsman’s Office requests that the Transitional Justice Committee be convened so that, as soon as possible, it contributes to the activation of the contingency route for families who are victims of displacement.