80-year-old grandfather murdered for stealing him from a farm in the Catatumbo region (Norte de Santander)

A terrible act of violence occurred in the Catatumbo region (Norte de Santander) where an 80-year-old grandfather was killed by rod beatings by criminals who went on to rob the farm where the older adult was in the rural area of the municipality of Convención.

The information was released through a report by the Blu Radio station, where they indicated that the murderers came from Venezuela who beat the victim to a serious head injury that led to his death.

The older adult was accompanied by a worker who managed to flee the scene and report what happened to the police. The man was also injured by criminals and was treated in a hospital in the municipality.

From there, they reported on the radio, the survivor reported that the murderers were looking for the product produced by the sale of panela, an activity they were engaged in on that farm.

It should be remembered that the Catatumbo region is one of the most conflictive in Colombia, where illegal armed groups such as the Eln, dissidents of the extinct FARC guerrilla and the Gulf Clan, are criminalized there.

It is precisely these groups that dispute drug trafficking routes through Venezuela and due to the few opportunities that the population has, they found illicit crops their livelihood. However, the Colombian authorities have pursued this practice, so earlier this week the peasants protested.

The Campesino Association of Catatumbo (Asuncat), which took the spokesperson for the issue, affirms that the national Government has not complied with what was agreed in the Final Peace Agreement.

“We know of the difficulties left by a blockade on the roads, which could worsen the economic outlook in the region, but it is the only alternative to be achieved, given the total abandonment of the State,” Aleider Contrerar, leader of Asunciat, told RCN Mundo.

The main problem would be related to the substitution of illicit crops. It points out that they have not obtained solutions from the national Government, but also from the local authorities.

In Asuncat, they emphasize that peasants are the most affected, because they are asked to destroy coca crops, but they have not been shown a fair solution to the problem of drugs in Catatumbo abroad. They say that communities do not believe the announcements of the national government, since they have been asked to replace illegal crops by planting palm, cocoa and livestock strengthening, but this was stagnant.

“The implementation of the peace process has been very slow. The governor has not complied, it is expected to reactivate the dialogue table with the regional president, while a strike is still in place, the responsibility lies with the National Government, which has not responded to the needs of the peasant communities,” Contreras ratified.

Thus, the members of Asuncat will meet in the Campo Seis sector, in the rural area of Tibú (Norte de Santander), to draw up a plan and define how they will carry out their respective mobilizations in the different municipalities that make up the Catatumbo.

It should be noted that last year, in response to the announcements of the national government to reactivate the eradication of coca crops in several municipalities in the Catatumbo area, farmers also held demonstrations.

The Government has carried out spraying of illicit crops with glyphosate, or manually using force, but this has not been effective. With the use of the chemical, it should be noted that this is no longer possible because the Constitutional Court repealed the resolution that endorses the use of glyphosate to eradicate illicit crops in Colombia. The high court ordered the national government to conduct prior consultation with communities affected by the herbicide.

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