In the alert, the embassy noted the following incidents (reproduced here as written by the U.S. governmental organization):

• On May 11, a Colombian National Police officer was shot and killed by a sniper in El Tarra, Norte de Santander. Initial reports suggest a “designated foreign terrorist organization,” the National Liberation Army (ELN), was responsible.

• On May 4, a dual American-Swedish national was released by the ELN after being held captive in the Catatumbo region for more than sixty days. This hostage taking occurred while the ELN and the government of Colombia are conducting peace negotiations.

• On April 29, security forces seized approximately one ton of explosives in Bogotá. According to security contacts, the explosives were to be used by terrorist/criminal organizations to make improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for attacks against police and military units outside of Bogota.

• Since the start of 2023, the ELN has repeatedly carried out IED attacks against oil infrastructure in the Arauca and Santander Departments.

• Incidents of violence against Colombian Security Forces and between illegally armed groups continue to occur on a regular basis in traditionally high-risk areas of the country.

“U.S. citizens should always be alert to the possibility that extremists may conduct attacks at any place and at any time with little or no warning,” stated the U.S. Embassy in its security alert. “Always remain vigilant, maintain heightened situational awareness, and incorporate strong personal security practices into their daily activities.”

Before a group of social leaders from the Montes de María region, the delegate of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the UN Verification Mission, Social Pastoral, the Mapp/OAS, the Kroc Institute, the Capaz Institute and the Presidential Council for Human Rights, the director of the Investigation and Accusation Unit (UIA) of the JEP, Giovanni Álvarez, presented the details of the new report.

The first alert indicates that in 100 municipalities of Colombia the authority of the state is collapsing in a dangerous way. Among municipalities facing peril, Álvarez referred to Maicao, Segovia, Ituango, Tibú, Ocaña, El Tarra, Jamundí, Fortul, Puerto Leguízamo, Suárez, Buenos Aires, La Macarena, Montelíbano, Santander de Quilichao, Tumaco, Buenaventura and Argelia, as some of the municipalities where the situation is more serious.

The second alert brings attention to the fact that “Colombia is experiencing a phase of reorganization of historical nuclei of paramilitarism: the Clan del Golfo and new groups that claim the acronyms of the AUC and the BCB have taken over 1 in 4 municipalities, and show significant activity in subregions such as Urabá Antioquia, Bajo Atrato, Alto Sinú, the southern region of the  Bolívar department, Sierra Nevada, the southern region of Cesar department, Risaralda and the north of Valle del Cauca (La Virginia-Cartago), the Middle-Magdalena (river) region, Antioquia, Caldas and Santander departments.

The JEP, the Truth Commission and the UBPD are exploring ways to guarantee the non-repetition of the crimes suffered by Colombians during 60 years of conflict.

Finally, Álvarez warned that the FARC-EP dissidents are the group of recidivists or peace process deserters that have grown the most in Colombia, constituting the main risk of victimization against those excombatants  who have laid down their weapons. In that sense, he said that “the simultaneous presence of the dissidents of ‘Gentil Duarte’ and the Second Marquetalia increases more than three times the probability of murders” of members of the extinct guerrilla groups.

Through the Unified Risk Monitoring Mechanism of the Integral System for Peace, which will issue periodic reports for the country and the competent authorities, both the JEP, the Truth Commission, and the UBPD, explore ways to guarantee the non-repetition of the crimes experienced by Colombians during 60 years of armed conflict.

During the event, which took place in San Jacinto (Bolivar), the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, the Truth Commission and the Search Unit for Persons Reported Missing, presented the tool that will serve as a compass to warn about the risks, publicize the atrocities of the conflict and for the State to take the necessary measures.

Through this public platform, the three entities work to have greater tools to mitigate the risks of Colombians who actively participate in the transitional justice model. According to the report, since the signing of the Peace Agreement, 326 former FARC-EP combatants and 1,026 social leaders have been killed. The death of each of them deprives the victims of realizing their rights to justice and full truth.

“This tool does not replace the very defense mechanisms that are at the head of the State,” warned Judge Eduardo Cifuentes, president of the JEP. In his opinion, it is necessary that “the other authorities take note of the alerts so that they adopt the corresponding measures,” he said after recalling that the System asked the Ombudsman’s Office to adopt an ombudsman resolution that draws up a roadmap to put an end to the crimes.

For his part, Father Francisco de Roux, president of the Truth Commission, called “for mayors to protect their people” since “what is at stake and our only reason for existing as institutions of the Integral System for Peace is the responsibility for life.”

On that same shore stood Nadia Pérez, spokeswoman for the Search Unit for Persons Reported Missing. “This system has allowed us to identify the risks to life and freedom for relatives, companions, information contributors, such as the signatories of the Peace Agreement. This allows us to identify the risks, contrast them with you in the territory to prevent and mitigate them.”

Photo: Aerial photo of the Caño Limón Field in Arauca. (Credit: Luis)

The state-controlled oil company said in a statement that the 480-mile-long pipeline, which stretches from the Arauca department to the Caribbean coast and is one of two major oil transportation pipelines in Colombia, has been attacked 28 times this year so far. The latest strike has paralyzed operations at the Caño Limón Field for 15 days dating back to March 6, halting its average production level of 52,000 barrels of oil per day.

While the company did not identify the parties responsible, military sources, according to Reuters, believe that guerrillas from the National Liberation Army (ELN) hit the pipeline in January.

“Ecopetrol emphatically rejects these terrorist acts that violate international humanitarian law, endanger the integrity of civilians and members of public security forces, affect the normal provision of essential public services — such as potable water and household gas — and seriously damage the environment,” said the company in a statement.

A driver was injured during a recent attack that targeted transport vehicles, according to Ecopetrol. (Credit: Ecopetrol)

Guerrillas typically carry out the attacks with explosives that either break or dent the pipeline, both of which threaten lives and the environment. Recent attacks have occurred in El Tarra in the department of Norte de Santander and Cubar in Boyacá, in which one driver was injured when transport vehicles were targeted, according to Ecopetrol.

In all this year, 26 of the attacks have occurred in Norte de Santander, primarily in the municipalities of El Carmen, El Tarra, and Teorama.

Attacks have also caused oil spills that have contaminated waterways including the El Loro and Culebritas, both of which are tributaries of the Catatumbo River that forms part of the Colombian border with Venezuela.

Ecopetrol noted that a prolonged shutdown of the Caño Limón Field jeopardizes 1,600 jobs, most in the department of Arauca. The shutdown also threatens the local contracting and services work that accounts for some 70 billion pesos ($24 million USD) each year.