The drama of ex-FARC members who left the reintegration space due to violence by dissidents

On February 19, the ex-combatants who had been living for eight years in the New Reincorporation Area (NAR) Simón Trinidad, located in the Nueva Esperanza area, Mesetas (Meta), began to take down the zinc tiles from the roofs of their homes, wrap their belongings in cloth and plastic, and dismantle the wooden buildings in which, for example, the area's tourist office operated.

Seven days later, on February 26, 24 ex-combatants and their families left the territory and took refuge in the urban area of ​​Mesetas , due to the fear caused by the clashes between the two dissident groups fighting for control of the illicit economies in the region.

“The time has come to say goodbye and we say it from the heart. We want to thank you for every moment shared, for every smile, for every lesson learned, thank you for everything, Nueva Esperanza,” reads a short farewell message posted on social media.

Although the first threats against the former peace fighters arrived on February 17, fear of the consequences of the armed confrontation between the faction loyal to alias Calarcá Córdoba, today known as the 'Estado Mayor de los Bloques', and the one that abandoned the peace process and today under the command of alias Iván Mordisco, called the 'Estado Mayor Central', was already latent.

In two early warnings issued by the Ombudsman's Office, in July 2024 and January 2025, the consolidation and expansion of the Jorge Suárez Briceño Bloc, one of the structures of 'Calarcá' that is currently participating in a dialogue table with the government of Gustavo Petro, was warned about. It also pointed out the imminent risk that, in the midst of its war with former allies, serious episodes of displacement, confinement, forced recruitment and violation of human rights would occur.

"The Amazonas Manuel Marulanda Vélez Bloc (command of 'Iván Mordisco') has broken into territories hegemonically controlled by 'Calarcá Córdoba' and this, in turn, into those dominated by the former, giving rise to the confrontations that are noted here," the Ombudsman's Office stated more than a month ago.

This situation caused, as in March 2023, when dozens of families abandoned the Miravalle ETCR (Caquetá) due to the territorial dispute between the 'Segunda Marquetalia' and the 'Estado Mayor Central', the breakdown of the social and community fabric that had been built in that place.

“The situation that has been occurring in the region in general is well known. In the south of Meta we have had cases of forced displacement of three groups of peace signatories for the same reasons: threats from different armed groups demanding that they withdraw from that territory,” said Manuela Marín, delegate of the CSIVI (Committee for Monitoring, Promotion and Verification of Implementation), who participated in the PMU that the Government installed this Tuesday in the Nueva Esperanza area.

It is worth mentioning that the NAR Simón Trinidad was established in 2017 to accommodate ex-combatants released thanks to the amnesties of the peace agreement. Originally, around 500 ex-FARC members settled there, but until a few hours ago only 24 remained . In addition, 23 children and 28 other relatives of the signatories lived there.

Since its founding, the main economic driver of the NAR Simón Trinidad has been tourism, promoted mainly by the Huellas de Manuel cooperative. This group of ex-combatants offered packages for rappelling, hiking and other extreme sports in Caño Rojo , a 40-meter-high waterfall located an hour by motorbike from the urban area of ​​Mesetas.

The project had been highlighted in various media outlets, and had the National Tourism Registry and the “Destinations of Peace” seal, awarded by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.

However, this effort could be stalled if the Government does not take urgent measures in the short term. “We are gathering all the logistics that our tourism agency has because we must move and be forcibly displaced from our territory. With this displacement, our initiative is paralyzed, an initiative that has benefited all our families,” said one of the signatories who lived in the area in the farewell video published by the ex-combatants.

But the problems in this area go beyond security issues. Marín recalls that livestock and agricultural cooperatives were created in Simón Trinidad that did not prosper. “Approved projects had to be liquidated, partly due to the lack of guarantees in marketing and partly because the land where they are is rented, that is, it is not their own and is insufficient to mount a large-scale project,” he said, adding that to this must be added the difficulties due to the limited technical support for the initiatives.

Hence, in a letter addressed to President Gustavo Petro, the signatories made specific requests for their transfer. In the document they request a comprehensive evacuation plan with logistical resources, transportation and protection for families, productive projects and assets, inter-institutional coordination to guarantee the provision of essential services such as health, education, and security, and humanitarian assistance in the host country, with access to basic conditions of dignified living and protection.

They also speak of guarantees of access to land and a definitive solution with the establishment of a new settlement and decent housing. They also ask for guaranteed education for children and adolescents.

The Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization, during the Unified Command Post on Tuesday, committed to carrying out several actions to address the crisis. As a first step, the entity will activate the route of attention to forced displacement in coordination with local authorities.

Likewise, the agency announced the launch of a land table to manage new properties, different from those already offered by the national government through the National Land Agency, in order to facilitate the transfer. “The ICBF will guarantee attention to early childhood and the ARN ensuring benefits to the population that signed the NAR, including monthly allowance and financial support,” the agency added.

There are also pending transfers in El Carmelita (Putumayo) and Charras (Guaviare) and critical cases in Monterredondo in Miranda (Cauca) and in Caño Indio (Norte de Santander), where the situation worsened after the ELN offensive and the response of the dissidents in the Catatumbo region.

The Government's solution to these episodes has been to transfer the signatories to other properties or spaces for reincorporation. For example, in 2020, 93 former FARC combatants were transferred from Santa Lucía to Mutatá, in Urabá, after 11 of them and two of their relatives were killed.

“There is a compromised institutionality, unfortunately not in the time and rhythm that we would like or that the population expects. There are very difficult bureaucratic exercises, that is, if they have us entangled in decrees, regulations and so on, and so we have to address this situation precisely to give priority to a population that is the object of special protection,” concluded Marín.

CAMILO A. CASTILLOPolitical EditorX: (@camiloandres894)