Colombia Journal - Cimitarra River Valley by a Montana activist

Reposted here in it's entirety with permission


Dear friends,
"Tell that son-of-a-bitch guerrilla to stop talking so much shit over the radio," was the message that the army commander in the Cimitarra River Valley sent to Ramiro Ortega (a good friend and leader of the Cimitarra River Valley Peasant Association) on June 12. Ramiro had been interviewed by the national radio station, RCN, the day before and had criticized the army occupation of the community of Santo Domingo (which began on May 21).

Our delegation visited Santo Domingo on June 7 and 8, and we witnessed the on-going presence of soldiers in the community - which puts the civilian population at risk of being caught in the middle of any attack by the guerrillas against the army. The army has also prohibited the people from working in their small coca fields (two to twelve acres). In that remote region, coca (the raw material for cocaine) is essentially the only crop that provides the peasants with a profit and enables them to partially cover the needs of their families. Since we visited Santo Domingo, 58 families have left the area due to fear of a potential guerrilla attack against the army and because they're not able to work in their fields. Twenty four of those families have sought shelter in Puerto Matilde - the most organized community in the Cimitarra River Valley, and the home of Ramiro and other leaders of the Peasant Association. In response to the threats against Ramiro, the Association asked me to return to Puerto Matilde and I was there from June 16 to 30.

On June 22, I had the wonderful surprise of seeing Alvaro Manzano
(attached photo) in Puerto Matilde! Alvaro was captured by the DAS
(Administrative Security Department - the security police) while we were walking from the bus terminal in Barrancabermeja on June 6. He is a long-time community activist and former president of the Cimitarra River Valley Peasant Association.

Alvaro told me how he had been previously captured by the army on his
farm in the community of No Te Pases on April 24. He was accused of buying drugs; and of managing money, weapons, and documents for the guerrillas. The army attempted to pressure him into joining the reinsertion program for guerrillas (to "reinsert" them back into civilian life). The soldiers told Alvaro that if he didn't join the program, he would be jailed for at least six years. They also told him that he had to "show results" - in particular, provide information about how they could capture other members of the Peasant Association. During his interrogation, the soldiers questioned Alvaro about 100 members of the Association that they accused of
being involved with the guerrillas.

Pascual, a former FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)
guerrilla, also tried to pressure Alvaro into joining the reinsertion
program. Pascual said that Ramiro Ortega was a boat driver for the
guerrillas, and that Carlos and Marina Martinez (two other good friends who I stayed with in Puerto Matilde) were guerrilla collaborators.

Alvaro refused to join the reinsertion program and managed to travel to Bogotá where he filed complaints with the national government about his capture and detention. After being captured again on June 6, Alvaro was imprisoned in Bucaramanga. Two weeks later (record time for the Colombian "justice" system), the prosecutor's office decided there was no evidence for
the charges against Alvaro and he was released from prison and finally allowed to return to his family and farm.


On June 26, I traveled with Ramiro to San Francisco to pick up three
55-gallon drums of gasoline and other supplies for Puerto Matilde. The supplies are brought in from Yondó - which has a police station and army base, and is completely controlled by the right-wing paramilitaries. The paramilitaries charge "taxes" on all goods brought into the Cimitarra River Valley and the tax had been nine dollars per drum. This time, the tax had been increased to 14 dollars per drum. In addition, the army has started charging "taxes" and had collected two dollars per drum at the gas station
in Yondó. The close collaboration of the military and police with the paramilitaries in this region is clearly visible for anyone who has their eyes even partially open.

According to the Cimitarra River Valley Peasant Association, one of the reasons for the persecution of the Association is that the Colombian government is planning to provide the Ashanti Anglo Gold Mines company (a Canadian corporation) with a concession for the exploitation of 2.5 million acres in the region. The government is apparently seeking to displace the civilian population from that area in order to prevent any opposition to the exploitation of those resources.

On June 28, the House of Representatives debated the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill for 2006. Representatives McGovern, McCollum, and Moore offered an amendment to cut just $100 million from the estimated $590 million of military aid for Colombia. Unfortunately, that amendment was defeated by a vote of 234 to 189. Representative Rehberg of Montana voted against the amendment. While Representative Rehberg's office provided me with a letter of introduction that proved to be very valuable when Alvaro was captured by the DAS, Rehberg has also been an on-going supporter of U.S.-funded paramilitary violence here in Colombia.

The Foreign Operations Appropriations bill will next be voted on in the Senate. Please contact Senators Baucus and Burns and urge them to vote against any additional military aid to Colombia.
In love and solidarity,
Scott Nicholson
Community Action for Justice in the Americas