JUST IN: first person report from a trusted friend and journo in Cucuta who wishes to remain nameless (thread)
"Violence against the "undesirable" returns to the neighborhoods of Cucuta. For some weeks now, in the largest neighborhoods of this city on the border with VZ..
"Violence against the "undesirable" returns to the neighborhoods of Cucuta. For some weeks now, in the largest neighborhoods of this city on the border with VZ..
the threat of "social cleansing" in being threatened by unidentified armed groups, 'delf-defense' forces, which they justify with an increase in insecurity in the area and the proliferation of micro-trafficking in drugs
This dynamic harkens back to paramilitary groups from the 80's and 90's and the beginning of the demobilization in the 2000's, consists in the selective killing of people who are allegedly related to crime
the sale of narcotics, prostitution, homelessness or being part of the LGBTQ community. The threats have also included a xenophobic speech against migrants and Venezuelan refugees.
Behind these claims runs a dangerous vein of fascist hatred that condemns certain individuals within a community that are subsequently executed, or who breach the curfew imposed by death squads as essential or undesirable.
Whoever is on the streets after nine or ten o'clock at night - without justification of study or employment - runs the risk of being killed or disappeared by these criminal groups.
It is worth noting that during the bloodiest periods of the armed conflict, the highest number of murders occurred in in the cities of Cúcuta, Medellín and Pereira."
Those are their exact words. Mine to follow
Those are their exact words. Mine to follow
The origins of the "paracos" or Colombian paramilitaries, lies in actions like this. These groups used neighborhood "cleanses" to eliminate enemies and take control of valuable areas during the civil war. They engaged in smuggling and narco-production as well, always under
the guys of "self-defense".
The groups doing this in Cucuta are no different, in fact it's probably one of the main groups like this on the border "AUC" or "rastrojos". The peace in Colombia is teetering, as recent escalations in violence and narco-production have shown
The groups doing this in Cucuta are no different, in fact it's probably one of the main groups like this on the border "AUC" or "rastrojos". The peace in Colombia is teetering, as recent escalations in violence and narco-production have shown
This is just one of many very troubling recent developments in that decay
apologies typos. I'm translating on a half-broken phone with a keyboard set to Spanish
