Luis Jaime Acosta

NORTE DE SANTANDER (Colombo) – Colombian soldiers camouflaged with guns and anti COVID masks crawl through dense vegetation, suffocating in the heat. They are ready to face their enemies as they cross Venezuela’s border.

They are part of an 14,000-strong unit of soldiers that were created in December to end rising bloodshed within the northerly province of Norte de Santander.

Their sergeant was a veteran of 20 years in the army, and he spoke under the shadow of a tree, near the border of Colombia and Venezuela.

In Norte de Santander, around 30 ambushes have killed 16 soldiers who were vulnerable to snipers, mines and ambushes.

Defense Ministry figures show that nineteen people belonging to illegal armed organizations have been killed and many soldiers, rebels, and gang members were injured.

However, it may not work: The resistance to eradicating coca leaves is rising amid opposition from locals who believe they are left with few options.

Colombia’s military has had a troubled history. It sometimes committed rights violations while fighting rebels, traffickers, and criminal gangs over more than 50 years.

The Venezuelan government of President Ivan Duque is angry at Venezuela and accuses President Nicolas Maduro of creating a sanctuary for drug gangs across the border, and conspiring to ship drugs to Europe and the United States for a share of the profits.

Officials from Colombia claim that the violence at border is fueled by Venezuela’s crumbling economy and rampant criminality. Reuters revealed in a recent investigation, how the rebel National Liberation Army is a leading employer and de facto local government in several Venezuelan villages.

Caracas strongly denies any responsibility. It claims Colombia’s right wing “oligarchy”, fails to control armed groups as part of a strategy to undermine left-ruled Venezuela.

CONFLUENCE OF INDSTABILITY

Colombia believes that the troop increase in Norte de Santander in Colombia will serve as a blueprint for peacekeeping other areas of this nation, whose civil war long ago has been shattered into smaller battles against criminals and transnational insurgents.

“In Norte de Santander there’s a confluence among various factors of instability,” General Luis Fernando Navarro of the Armed Forces told Reuters from his Bogota office.

He said that Venezuela’s porous border and poor law enforcement allow guerrillas of the ELN (and dissident Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) to attack and flee the border.

Navarro stated that about half of the ELN fighters are based there and that 30% of FARC dissidents do so from it, which is protected against bombing raids.

Colombians are battling for control over the growing coca supply. According to U.N. data, Catatumbo can produce 312 tonnes per annum of cocaine, which is 25% of Colombia’s total production.

In Norte de Santander, 576 murders were committed last year, as compared to 539 in 2019. The defense ministry reports that 436 people were murdered between September 2019 and September 2021.

According to activists groups, twenty-two human rights advocates have been assassinated in the last year. Fighting has also caused some 6,500 displacements.

Wilfredo Canizares (director of Fundacion Progresar), said that the criminal element is what causes violence.

Former rebels attacked a Cucuta military base in June. Another sniper attempted to take down the helicopter that Duque and several other officials were riding on.

FARC’s dissident commander claimed responsibility for the attack on the U.S. presence.

MILITARIZING ALONE ‘A FAILURE’

His recent arrest of Otoniel (leader of the Gulf Clan), may not end violence. The group is said to have alliances with criminals from more than two dozen nations. Analysts in the region believe the arrest may even encourage more violence as the gang acts out against security forces and members compete for power.

John Marulanda is a security consultant and a former army colonel. He said that groups attacked high-profile targets in order to divert authorities from areas of drug production or routes to Venezuelan clandestine airports.

New military Special Command for Norte Santander (CENOR), which will be a combination of four units previously separated, will enable better coordination in logistics and intelligence. It will also allow for increased patrols and support from the air.

According to the military, increased troop numbers with U.S. military advisers on the ground will be in conjunction with investment in roads and schools as well as other programs.

There are also detractors.

Activists believe that boots on the ground are insufficient without support for coca substitution and anti-poverty policies. Fundacion Progresar’s Canizares said that militarizing territories is not the answer.

He said that it was indefensible for murders, mass shootings, displacements, and drug trafficking to continue in spite of a long-term, large-scale military presence in the region.

In protest of the removal of one of Colombia’s most important coca plantations in Colombia, 180 people were held hostage by Tibu farmers for several hours.

And the eradication efforts in Norte de Santander overall are in shambles, with a decrease of about 30 sq km from 95 in 2020 due to local opposition.

According to the defense ministry and military figures, the total number of clandestine laboratory sites – often deep within the jungle – destroyed by the government in the first nine month of 2021 was 458 compared with 694 in 2020.

The 2021 seizure of cocaine in Norte del Santander – 24.8 tons – has outpaced 16,6 and 22.4, respectively in 2020 and 2019. The increase in seizures of cocaine in Norte del Santander is partially due to higher production as well as better U.S. data satellites.

Locals are clamoring for land titles and loans to crop-switching, but authorities insist that the security strategy is backed up by social investment.

The $8 million program is designed to increase cacao production and was funded by the National Government through Silvano serrano, the provincial governor. The program will provide seeds and technical support to farmers, as well as guaranteed fixed-price sales.