Across Colombia, new armed groups – and some long-established ones – are violently occupying the regions left behind by the Farc, all hoping to wrest control of the cocaine trade, illegal gold mines and other criminal enterprises which once financed the rebels.
The military promised to send out 65,000 of its soldiers to occupy and secure the regions and President Juan Manuel Santos announced last month that 960 new police agents would be assigned to rural areas.
But criminal groups have moved faster.
Fighting between a smaller rebel faction, the National Liberation Army, ELN, and the military branch of a criminal group known as the Urabeños has led to the forced displacement of nearly 1,000 people since the start of the year in the western region of Chocó. On 25 March, five community members of one town in that area were gunned down, though it is unclear by which side.
Related:
Are Crime Groups Behind Colombia Coca Eradication Protests?
Meanwhile, the country’s economy slows down,
Las consecuencias del Gbno van llegando; preparemos el cambio de rumbo pic.twitter.com/ACw0dXw5WL
— Álvaro Uribe Vélez (@AlvaroUribeVel) April 18, 2017
