More than 1,900 households received humanitarian assistance in 2022, according to the Unit for Victims

So far this year, the department of Arauca has become a territory where violence has intensified. According to official reports, forced displacement is the most common victimizing event in this department with 2,536 people included, followed by threats, with 622 facts presented and terrorist acts, attacks, fighting, clashes and harassment with 169 reported cases.

During his visit to the department of Arauca, the Director General of the Unit for Victims, Ramón Alberto Rodríguez Andrade, reiterated the institutional commitment to the population affected by the armed conflict since the implementation of Law 1448.

Regarding the current situation in this area of the country, the official said that “we are analyzing how we are doing on the issues of prevention, care and humanitarian aid, especially after the attack in the municipality of Saravena where more than 246 families were affected by the activation of an explosive device. We are delivering up to two minimum wages as humanitarian aid depending on the degree of damage and doing all the accompaniment,” said Rodríguez Andrade.

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For its part, the Joel Sierra Human Rights Foundation warned that during April there were seven murders in the department, of which two were women.

The victims revealed by the foundation are: 54-year-old Blanca Sánchez Gómez, murdered on April 5, the day on which Mr. Mario Montoya was also killed. Likewise, the death of Juvenal Carrillo Galvis, 56 years old, and Jorge González, was recorded.

On the other hand, 25-year-old José Alexander Vargas Piñeros was shot dead in the hamlet of Flor Amarillo on Saturday, April 9, while on Sunday, April 10, 44-year-old Maria Nidia Martínez Duarte and 28-year-old Yeison Javier Martínez Duarte died from several gunshot wounds, the latter two victims being mother and son.

According to the Directorate of Registration and Information Management of the Unit for Victims, a total of 4,738 applications for registration in the Single Registry of Victims were received in 2022, related to acts of violence that occurred in the department in the first quarter of the year.

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The official also explained in his visit to the department this Wednesday that, “all contingency plans are being reviewed in each of the municipalities, as well as the coordination with the territorial authorities in order to guarantee the victim population, the components of accommodation and food by mass displacement and confinement”.

During his participation in the Subcommittee on Prevention, Protection and Guarantees of Non-Repetition, led by the Government of Arauca, the official announced the report on the actions and steps taken by the entity's different processes with the victims of this area of the country.

Among the points highlighted by the official, it is found that so far in 2022 the Unit for Victims had carried out 1,983 humanitarian assistance transfers, benefiting 1,972 households victims of forced displacement who said they were residing in a municipality of Arauca, worth $1,155,260,000.

So far this year, the Unit for Victims has included 2,772 persons in the Single Registry of Victims, according to the requests assessed with a court of March 31: The municipalities with the most cases are: Saravena with 1067 applications, followed by Tame with 712, Arauquita with 495, Fortul with 397, Arauca, 80; Puerto Rondón 15, and Cravo Norte 6.

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