PBI-Colombia accompanies Board of Directors of ASCAMCAT during the Humanitarian Caravan to Catatumbo
PBI-Colombia has posted on Instagram:
“We accompanied the Board of Directors of ASCAMCAT [the Catatumbo Peasant Association] in the Humanitarian Caravan for Peace: ‘Let’s embrace Catatumbo’ in the municipality of El Tarra, Norte de Santander, in the context of the escalation of violence that has been unleashed in Catatumbo since January 16, causing a humanitarian crisis in the region that has not been seen for a long time.
Organizations and leaders expressed their rejection of the harassment and conduct in violation of International Humanitarian Law by the armed actors and demanded:
1) Immediate cessation of all hostilities by all armed actors, as well as any aggression, threat or stigmatization of leaders and civilian population.
2) Demilitarization of daily life in the region,
3) Full compliance with the Peace Agreement and the basic norms of International Humanitarian Law.
4) Implementation of humanitarian aid mechanisms in an immediate and effective manner.
5) Compliance with the Humanitarian Minimums and the Social Pact for the Territorial Transformation of Catatumbo.“
The Caravana
Prensa Latina further explains: “A humanitarian caravan made up of human rights associations and social groups arrived today [February 4] in the Catatumbo region, to call for an end to the violence that shakes that area of northeastern Colombia. …The humanitarian caravan departed from the municipality of Ocaña on February 2 and will conclude tomorrow its campaign of solidarity with the residents of El Catatumbo, where more than 52,000 people were displaced from their homes and more than 24,000 remain confined, according to data from the Ombudsman’s Office.”
The call for transnational solidarity
Adriana M. Pérez Rodríguez, a Colombian feminist researcher and PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, and Priscyll Anctil Avoine at the Swedish Defence University in Stockholm have co-authored an article published by the New York City-based North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) that highlights:
“Historically, the response of the Colombian state in Catatumbo has oscillated between glaring negligence in social and educational terms and a heavily militarized presence. However, as several feminist scholars and activists have argued, ‘militarized peace’ will only increase insecurities, make humanitarian protection more complex, and escalate violent conflicts.
A crucial step of transnational solidarity is accountability. Violence in Catatumbo is a globalized violence that is sustained through the international criminalization of drug use, disputes between neighboring states, profits from drug trafficking by armed groups, the sexual exploitation of national and migrant women as a form of territorial control, the state’s unleashing of femicides, and land dispossession in the name of ‘progress’ for oil, coal, and palm oil.
From this perspective, what is happening in Catatumbo is not isolated from political and economic decisions taken at national and international levels.
Transnational solidarity implies above all else that affected populations are not forgotten. We cannot stop talking about Catatumbo. As the leaders of ASCAMCAT, the Catatumbo peasant association, have clearly stated: ‘the Catatumbo region cannot bear any more suffering.’”
Their article can be read in full at In the Face of Violence, Catatumbo’s Communities Call for Solidarity (NACLA, February 11, 2025).
We continue to follow this situation.
Previous reading: PBI-Colombia accompanies Humanitarian Caravan that seeks an end to armed violence against civilians in Catatumbo (PBI-Canada, February 5, 2025).
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