Armed groups vying for control of Colombia’s resource-rich Catatumbo region, near the Venezuelan border, are committing serious human rights violations, according to a report published on Wednesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
In a 12-page document, HRW accused rebels of executing unarmed civilians, forcibly recruiting children and running forced labour camps.
The group called on the Colombian government to urgently accelerate investigations into at least 78 homicides reported in January and February, following the collapse of a truce between rival armed factions.
“Our research points to widespread abuses against ordinary people,” said Juanita Goebertus, HRW’s Americas director.
According to Colombia’s Human Rights Ombudsman, more than 56,000 people have been displaced from Catatumbo since 16 January, when the National Liberation Army (ELN) launched a violent offensive to strengthen its hold on the territory.
HRW investigators documented how the ELN entered villages, dragging residents from their homes and executing those accused of supporting rival factions, including the FARC-EMC, a dissident group of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
In some communities, survivors reported that farmers were killed in front of their families. Others alleged that FARC-EMC rebels operated forced labour camps, where accused individuals were made to cut sugar cane for over 12 hours a day.
Juan Pappier, HRW’s deputy director for the Americas, pointed to the strategic importance of Catatumbo’s proximity to Venezuela, a key corridor for drug trafficking.
“It seems that the ELN is trying to control the border with Venezuela, partly due to the drug trade,” he said. “And for that they’ve long benefited from the complicity of Venezuelan security forces.”
HRW’s report is based on interviews with 65 people, including displaced residents, humanitarian workers and legal officials.
The human rights group has called on Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office to increase the number of prosecutors and investigators assigned to Catatumbo, and to provide them with adequate security protections.
The Colombian government suspended peace talks with the ELN on 20 January following attacks on several villages in the region.
President Gustavo Petro, a former rebel himself, has accused the ELN leadership of abandoning revolutionary ideals and becoming “greedy” drug traffickers.
Although Colombia saw a decrease in violence after the 2016 peace accord with the FARC — under which over 13,000 combatants disarmed — regions like Catatumbo have experienced a resurgence of violence, including killings, extortion and displacement, as smaller armed groups battle for control of former FARC territories.
Colombia’s Ministry of Defence estimates that the ELN maintains a force of approximately 6,000 fighters across Colombia and Venezuela.
