ConflictBarometer_2016

THE AMERICAS
ernment advanced, the group significantly reduced violent
actions and prepared to withdraw from its strongholds [→
Colombia (FARC)]. Other armed groups entered these territories,
fueling turf wars. According to Insight Crime, the largest
neo-paramilitary group Los Urabeños, also called Autodefensas
Gaitanistas de Colombia, Clan Úsuga, and Clan del Golfo,
expanded its presence in Chocó, Nariño, Putumayo, Guaviare,
and Norte de Santander departments.
The Support Mission to the Peace Process in Colombia of
the Organization of American States reported that the ELN
was moving into regions where it previously had a limited
presence, such as in Nariño and Vichada departments. In
El Bagre, Antioquia department, Los Urabeños pushed into
territory controlled by the FARC, with the latter allying with
the ELN on several occasions to confront Los Urabeños. For
instance, in mid-January, the groups clashed, leading to the
displacement of more than 500 people. On April 12, confrontations
between the ELN and Los Urabeños in the same
municipality left two alleged Los Urabeños members dead
and three civilians injured. Four days later, at least ten families
were displaced in Briceño, Antioquia, due to four homicides
attributed to Los Urabeños competing with the FARC for
their territory. According to UNHCR, clashes between armed
groups in Chocó left more than 6,000 people displaced between
April and May, while an additional 7,000 people were
confined to their homes. Previously, in February, more than
600 people from various parts of the department had been
displaced to Alto Baudó, Chocó, due to clashes between the
ELN and Los Urabeños.
In the Eastern Plains, the September 2015 killing of Martín
Farfán Díaz alias Pijarbey, leader of the neo-paramilitary
group Libertadores del Vichada, exacerbated the turf war
between various groups. Los Urabeños, allied with Libertadores
del Vichada, reportedly expanded their presence in
Meta department. They fought Bloque Meta for control over
the lucrative region for drug production and trafficking. In
Granada, Meta, police attributed five killings in January and
February to the competing groups.
In Nariño, 219 persons were displaced to the departmental
capital Tumaco in February due to confrontations between
the FARC and another armed group. Authorities blamed rivalry
between Los Urabeños and the criminal group Los Botalones
for seven murders in May and June in Cimitarra, Santander
department.
Turf wars accounted for high homicide rates in the major
cities as well. In Medellín, Antioquia, smaller gangs aligned
with the major neo-paramilitary groups fought a turf war, to
which police attributed 48 percent of the 497 murders registered
up to December. In the border city of Cúcuta, Norte de
Santander, where Los Urabeños were fighting Los Rastrojos,
police attributed 33 percent of the city's 276 homicides this
year to inter-gang violence. Until October, police registered
181 murders related to the ongoing turf war between armed
groups in Cali, Valle del Cauca. afo
COLOMBIA (NEO-PARAMILITARY GROUPS, DRUG
CARTELS)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1983
Conflict parties:
drug cartels, neo-paramilitary groups
vs. government
Conflict items: subnational predominance, resources
The conflict over subnational predominance and resources
between several neo-paramilitary groups and drug cartels, on
the one hand, and the government, on the other, de-escalated
to a violent crisis.
The neo-paramilitary groups in large parts consisted of remnants
of drug cartels dismantled in the 1990s and exparamilitary
members who had demobilized in the mid-
2000s. The largest group was Los Urabeños, who also referred
to themselves as Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia,
called Clan Úsuga and Clan del Golfo by the government.
Los Urabeños counted with approx. 2,700 members, a presence
in 17 departments of Colombia, and links to Mexican
drug cartels [→ Mexico (drug cartels)]. The government classified
major groups as ''criminal gangs” (BACRIM). Los Urabeños,
Los Pelusos, and Los Puntilleros were additionally classified
as Armed Organized Groups (GAOs). Los Pelusos was an alternative
name for the Army of National Liberation (EPL), while
Los Puntilleros referred to Bloque Meta and Libertadores del
Vichada. On April 22, a government directive permitted ''the
use of full force” to combat GAOs. In contrast, the research
institute INDEPAZ classified them as neo-paramilitary groups,
and also included others such as Los Rastrojos and Águilas
Negras. The main objective of these groups was to control
strategically important areas and secure the exploitation of
resources such as gold, and the production and transportation
of drugs.
In contrast to last year, no major government airstrikes were
reported, while numbers of conflict-related deaths and displacements
remained high throughout the year. The government
continued ''Operation Agamemnon” against Los
Urabeños with the aim of capturing its leader, Dairo Antonio
Usuga alias Otoniel. On March 23, police killed Jairo
de Jesús Durango alias Guagua, one of the five most powerful
Urabeños leaders, in Chocó department. In operations
against ''Los Puntilleros”, police killed their leader Álvaro Enciso
Arias alias El Venado on May 13 in Cumaribo, Vichada
department, and captured his successor José Manuel Capera
alias Nube Negra on July 14 in Guadualito, Meta department.
In a joint military and police operation, two EPL
members were killed in Sardinata, Norte de Santander department,
on December 12. In 100 operations against organized
crime across the country, concluding on March 18 after
25 days, police detained 3,723 people, including members
of Los Urabeños and Los Rastrojos. Authorities also seized
37.5 tons of drugs and destroyed 22 labs. In the beginning of
September, government forces conducted ''Operation Nemesis
V”, capturing 109 members of neo-paramilitary groups,
including 84 members of Los Urabeños, and seizing various
weapons, including 40 grenades. According to the govern-
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