Colombia arrests FARC dissident responsible for massive displacement of rural people

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Colombian authorities arrested on Tuesday FARC dissident Henry Dario Areiza Jaramillo, alias “Machin”, accused of being one of those responsible for the displacement of more than 4,000 people from rural areas of the municipality of Ituango, in the department of Antioquia (northwest).

“The crimes for which alias ‘Santiago’ or ‘Machín’ was wanted are aggravated conspiracy to commit a crime for purposes of extortion, drug trafficking in concurrence with aggravated homicide and illegal possession of firearms,” said the director of the Colombian police, General Jorge Luis Vargas, at a press conference.

In total, until last week, there were 4,041 people from 1,675 families who are accommodated as best they can in seven schools and colleges in Ituango, which, out of necessity, have been transformed into improvised shelters to receive displaced people fleeing from their lands due to threats from FARC dissidents.

The farmers are also fleeing clashes between FARC dissidents and members of the Clan del Golfo – the country’s largest criminal gang – who are fighting for control of a territory where there is coca cultivation and illegal mining, which, according to the Colombian government, are the main fuels for the violence plaguing this part of the country.

The territory has gained importance for the illegal armed groups because it connects the departments of Antioquia, of which Ituango is part, Cordoba, and Choco, and also because it provides access to boh the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

According to authorities, of the total number of displaced, some 3,400 returned to their homes between Sunday and Monday.

A CRIMINAL TRAJECTORY OF YEARS

According to the Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, the arrested dissident has a criminal record of nine years since he joined the former FARC guerrillas in 2011. He stated that he participated in the peace process, but in 2017 he left the agreement to join the FARC’s 18th Front dissidence.

“We cannot allow ‘Machín’ or any of these ringleaders of FARC dissidents for alleged territorial disputes with the Clan del Golfo, to make decisions” that affect farmers, said Minister Molano.