“Just a few months ago, the fighting was so intense that no one dared retrieve the dead,” said Javier, who spoke with InSight Crime at the end of 2024. “At one point, animals were eating the corpses,” he added, lowering his voice.

Over the last 20 years, Javier has seen how a conflict once rooted in ideology — between guerrillas and paramilitaries — has transformed into a battle over coca crops, drug trafficking corridors, and gold deposits.

Today, a resurgence of violence has been sparked by clashes between Colombia’s three main criminal actors: the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN), the country’s last remaining insurgency; the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC); and dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC), known as the ex-FARC mafia—both products of past demobilization efforts.

“The FARC and ELN say, ‘Leave, or we’ll kill you.’ The AGC says, ‘If you leave, we’ll kill you,’” said Javier. “The communities are left with no way out.”

All three groups have sought talks with the Colombian government under the “Total Peace” plan, which aims to negotiate separately with the country’s illegal armed groups. However, this policy has done little to curb the territorial disputes unfolding in Bajo Cauca and throughout Colombia.

Fighting to Fill the Vacuum

Guerrilla-paramilitary clashes in Bajo Cauca date back to the late 1990s. But over the past two decades, these groups have evolved and become further criminalized. Attempts to demobilize their forces – first the 2006 demobilization of the paramilitaries of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC), then the 2016 peace deal with the FARC – led to new conflicts as splinter groups and rivals fought to fill the power vacuum and control the criminal economies left behind.

SEE ALSO: Colombia’s Peace Efforts Spark Criminal Disputes and Divisions 

The latest escalation began when the AGC — the most powerful criminal group in Bajo Cauca — moved into the Serranía de San Lucas. Located in the south of the neighboring department of Bolívar, this mountain range is rich in gold deposits and coca crops and has long been an ELN stronghold. Homicides in El Bagre, which connects San Lucas with the Bajo Cauca, rose to 29 last year, up from 20 in 2023. But murders are just one element of the conflict, which has also led to mass displacements and the confinement of whole communities. Some 145 people were displaced to El Bagre in December 2024 following clashes. By early January 2025, that number had risen to 230.

Still, the violence continued. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 395 people were forcibly displaced in Montecristo, southern Bolívar, on February 7, while another 144 were confined to their homes by the fighting. On February 18, 26 people were displaced from Segovia, which borders El Bagre to the south, due to fighting between the ELN and the AGC.

“What we’re seeing now is the AGC gaining ground against the ELN,” Javier said.

To defend its turf, the ELN has allied with the 18th and 36th Fronts of the Central General Staff (Estado Mayor de los Bloques y Frente – EMBF).

“The ELN’s alliance with the FARC dissidents is what’s stopped the AGC from advancing in the Serranía de San Lucas,” he added.

Local police told InSight Crime that another group, known as “Los de Abajo” or “Los de Cuturrú” — a remnant of longtime AGC rivals the “Caparros” — also appears to have joined the alliance.

What’s at Stake in Bajo Cauca?

The conflict is driven by a fight for control of a region brimming with criminal opportunities. The area contains over 8,000 hectares of coca crops and vast gold reserves. Between January and September 2024, 11.64 metric tons of gold were extracted from the subregion, accounting for 54% of all gold mined in Antioquia and 41% of Colombia’s total.

Both the AGC and the ELN profit from mining by charging fees for moving machinery and supplies, extorting legal and illegal miners, and taking a cut of gold production or fixed fees per mine.

SEE ALSO: Major Criminal Powers Dispute Key Corridors in Colombia

Bajo Cauca is also a strategic point on Colombia’s criminal map, connecting coca-producing zones in the east and north with drug dispatch points on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. Controlling this corridor guarantees illicit revenue flows.

But beyond the economic value, groups with deep roots in the region, such as the ELN, are clinging violently to their turf.

“This is about ego. One group wants to take over, the other says, ‘You’re not pushing me out,’” said a humanitarian worker based in Bajo Cauca who asked not to be identified as they had not been authorized to speak publicly.

Bajo Cauca’s Expanding Battle Lines

While violence is concentrated on the border with southern Bolívar, tensions are rising elsewhere in the region. In Cáceres, a municipality in central-western Bajo Cauca, authorities reported the forced displacement of several families in December 2024 due to clashes in San Pablo, a key mining hub.

The AGC has established a permanent presence in San Pablo, where it has battled both the Colombian army and the ELN. In December 2024, four AGC members were killed in an airstrike in the area.

In neighboring Tarazá, in western Bajo Cauca, social leaders, civil society members, and local officials told InSight Crime that tensions are flaring in various hamlets historically used for coca cultivation and cocaine production. The sources warned that violence is likely to worsen in the coming months.

“What’s next? The same as always: massacres, displacement, threats, forced disappearances,” said a public official in Tarazá, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

In early March, the ELN detonated an explosive device on the road linking Tarazá and Medellín, the capital of Antioquia. In December 2024, the group attacked a public transport vehicle on the same route, injuring two people.

The deteriorating security is reflected in homicide statistics: Cáceres recorded 34 murders in 2024, up from 18 in 2023; Tarazá saw 29 homicides, compared to 12 the year before, according to National Police data. Yet killings are only one metric — communities are also suffering from a range of abuses that underscore the grip these groups have over daily life.

The Mechanics of Social Control

As criminal clashes have intensified in Bajo Cauca, so has the pressure on civilians. Each group uses fear and violence to enforce rules, assert control, and project authority.

“The AGC is using the same tactics the FARC used — like laying landmines,” said Javier.

The now-defunct FARC was notorious for mining territory to slow the army’s advance and protect coca fields. While the practice declined after the FARC’s 2016 demobilization, the AGC appears to be reviving it in areas like Cáceres and El Bagre to keep guerrilla rivals out. Mines are often placed along footpaths, trapping rural communities.

SEE ALSO: What Is Behind Increased Violence in Colombia?

The AGC has also imposed rules and distributed behavior manuals, mandating curfews and punishing rule-breakers. The group has confined entire communities during clashes with rivals.

The civilian population has been caught between the competing demands of armed groups. One group demands displacement; another forbids it. Some communities have taken a stand.

“People were displaced for about 15 days. When they came back, they reopened their businesses and agreed to resist the groups,” said Javier. “They told them, ‘Your fight is your problem. Go kill each other — but let us work.’”

However, while Javier and other residents of Bajo Cauca seek to break the cycles of violence they have suffered for generations, the profits on offer from mining and drug trafficking mean armed groups will continue to fight over the territory, and violence will remain their main tool to assert their power.

*Name changed to protect identity.

This article, written by Sara Garcia and Alicia Florez, was originally published by InSight Crime, a Medellín-based foundation dedicated to the investigation and analysis of crime and security in Colombia and Latin America. It has been generously shared with Finance Colombia under a Creative Commons license.

The second Pricesmart, well under construction on the road known as Transversal Inferior (Carrera 32) in the leafy (but congested) neighborhood of San Lucas in Medellín’s affluent Poblado district. While no one from Pricesmart said so, documents obtained by Finance Colombia seem to indicate that the opposition is spearheaded by new Medellín city councilwoman Claudia Marcela Ramirez Echeverri, a member of ex-President Alvaro Uribe’s Centro Democrático political party.

Finance Colombia was able to arrange an exclusive interview, presented below, with Andrés Romero, Pricesmart’s country manager for Colombia to “clear the air” and present Pricesmart’s position with regards to allegations that the new site’s construction permits and business licenses are out of order. Romero assures shopers and investors that everything is in order, and promises Poblado residents that Pricesmart is a good corporate citizen and that the new store will be a good neighbor.

Finance Colombia: My first question is: the part of Medellín where you are building the second Pricesmart known as San Lucas, Poblado has a little bit of infamy for its traffic congestion. What was the thinking behind choosing this location? Obviously, it’s one of the highest income areas of Medellín, equivalent to Chicó in Bogotá; but what was the strategy in choosing this part of the city that doesn’t have very good traffic flow?

Andrés Romero: To that point, when we did the study, we evaluated various factors. One very important one is where we have the most active members. Where can the company be most beneficial to the members of Pricesmart? We want to be as close as possible to our members, minimizing their travel across the city. That creates a positive impact on the city’s mobility. It also increases our level of service.

On the theme of mobility, our design also contextualizes functionality that allows us to operate mitigating the impact of, and eases the access to the club. We have planned on a service [entry] way that eases the traffic flow for our members, and we have also attended the comments and requests of the authorities to improve the design. One item for example is a ramp that had an 18 degree incline, we adjusted it to a 16 degree incline specifically at the request of the control entities, to ensure a flexible, fluid process.

Finance Colombia: That’s one thing I like about the store you have in La Mota (neighborhood in Belén, Medellín where the existing Pricesmart is located). That zone also has a lot of traffic, but you have an innovative design, a space like a patio where cars can enter, and taxis and delivery services like Rappi can come in and wait, and not impede traffic. Across the street, a big new mall came and there is a lot of congestion, but it’s not caused by Pricesmart.

My question is, you started apparently with all the correct licenses and permits, but what happened? Did you have conversations with the neighbors and the surrounding community before starting? Where did this opposition come from?

Andrés Romero: The first thing would be important to indicate that our licenses are the same from the beginning; they have not changed. We have done all the paperwork before all the government entities of the city; the control entities, attending to their requirements and providing all the information that has been requested in order to comply with everything of course. We have been working since the planning stages, going through the process right now of construction, and soon with training.

With our second club in the city of Medellín, what has been presented is completely natural, talking with the community and concerns arise, for example about what time the club will operate, etc. We have been very open to meet with [the community], to talk to them, we have met with them to discuss the generalities of the new club. We have always attended to each of the requirements. [We] have not been negligent at any time; on the contrary. We have been very up front with response times. So much so, that for example last week we had a very good meeting with the city of Medellín, where we met with planning, with the transportation police, many of the actors that have been involved with the whole process to be able to attend to all the concerns that have arisen.

I can mention for example, two important aspects. One, the police inspectors visited us and found everything within the rules, everything working according to the regulations, and that is why the work continues to operate. Also, the things we do in response to those meetings with businesses and the community, with our neighbors in this case. Well, the cover of the parking lot has been changed to a green design based on input from the community in those meetings.

I can assure you that from the start we have done all processes correctly, complying with all the norms, both thematically as well as legally to guarantee that we are positively involved with the community, that we contribute to the development of the community, and of the city.

Finance Colombia: I find it strange that Pricesmart has always had a good reputation with regards to ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance), its social commitment here in Colombia, but also in Panamá, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Costa Rica, in many locations, and the company hasn’t had trouble. Quite the reverse, consumers want to have a local Pricesmart. Pricesmart carries a lot of items that are hard to find in the locations where it operates. Pricesmart is always doing things in the local schools and communities.

In Colombia, a publicly viewable sign must be displayed vat construction sites providing property & permitting details. Pricesmart’s  appears to be in order. (photo: Loren Moss)

My question is this: You apparently took out the necessary permits. The construction advisory sign that is mandatory for construction projects in Colombia is up and displayed at your construction site listing all the approvals and licenses, I went and checked for myself yesterday. Colombia has a reputation for legal certainty, at least for Latin America, and you operate in much more difficult places. Some of the locations where you operate in Central America are much more difficult, but at your construction site, you already have the roof in place.

How is it that the government can after issuing all the licenses and permits, change their mind, or I don’t know how that works, but how can they try to revoke the licenses as in this process? And how are you going to fight this to get legal certainty or “páz y salvo” (peace and safe) as they say here in Colombia, with the local government?

Andrés Romero: Well the first thing I would like to mention is that the company operates very calmly. We have certainly complied with all the procedures before the government entities. As you mentioned, we have a presence in several countries…We operate in thirteen countries, we have 50 clubs and counting, where in each of these openings, we have done everything corresponding to compliance with all the rules and everything that has to do with the legal and juridical components. Among other things, we as a public company in the United States are obliged to maintain an ethical line of the highest level, where we are not allowed for any reason to miss any of these commitments or corporate values, and compliance at the international level in all of the markets where we operate. We are very strict with that, and likewise the licenses were ideal as you mentioned, handled in the correct, transparent way.

Construction on Pricesmart’s Poblado location continues unabated. (photo: Loren Moss)

So things at the moment, we have complied with any requests by the authorities, and all the answers that are related to the issues impacting us at the time. Now particularly with the revocation you talk about, it is a process that we are monitoring, and we will give a response when we receive an official statement. But in the end what I can tell you is that we are completely sure of the processes we have carried out from day zero until today. That gives us a completely clear path to where we want to go, where we are always going, hand in hand with the community, with the control entities, and obviously with all the departments that are part of the organization in the function of being able to always bring to fruition our projects.

And in this case, we expect to open our doors to the community more or less in August.

Finance Colombia: You have been very generous with your time, so this is the last question: ESG is very important with investors. When you open the doors, at this newest, what I would imagine is the most modern Pricesmart…You already mentioned innovations with the roof. I see it will have three floors. How are you using the space? It is in a limited-space location For example at the Bogotá location off 26^th Ave. (Avenida El Dorado), or the other Medellín location, space is at a premium so you put the parking lot under the building to maximize use of space.

What new or novel innovations can we expect to see in your next, newest Pricesmart?

Andrés Romero: Look, I could tell you that right now we have a lot of focus on offering this building with a very positive environmental impact. Yes, everything…our cooling system is CO₂ based, which is the most modern and most environmentally friendly technology. That is a point that I think is quite important to highlight. Another is that we will have a state of the art wastewater treatment plant, probably one of the most modern in the country, where we are going to guarantee that the water is treated and very clean, even before we release it into the public sewer.

All of our lighting will be LED that will have a positive impact, a savings that contributes to the reduction of CO₂ emissions and pollution to the environment. It is also important to mention that the club will have a very innovative design with the floor plan. The sales floor will be on the first level and parking will be on the second floor. This is done with a view towards efficiency from both a construction standpoint, but also so that we can offer our members a facility that is completely comfortable and secure for everyone who visits our excellent new club.

Finance Colombia: I know you are very busy managing your existing stores here in Colombia, not to mention this process with the new one, so thank you very much for your time. Construction is a stressful process even when things go perfectly, so I know you have your hands full. Much success to you.

Andrés Romero: We are working very hard, without rest so that we can achieve this objective, and we hope to see you at our grand opening in August!

Readers, share your comments & opinions below. Are you a Pricesmart member?

A meeting with the Local Administrative Board (JAL) of El Poblado on February 6 regarding the irregularities and alleged illegality of the construction has found the government and the residents stuck as PriceSmart refused to relinquish their rights to build the warehouse and will reportedly only stop construction if the license is revoked via a court order, Vivir en el Poblado reported.

The second PriceSmart in Medellín is being constructed in a hillside residential area already known for intense traffic congestion due to winding, low capacity, mostly two-lane roads.

Juan Sebastián Rey, the President of the JAL of Comuna 14, said that “Price Smart was on very good terms with this entity and showed a conciliatory spirit with the community, without giving up its claim to move forward with this store,” and that PriceSmart has agreed to cooperate on any future explanatory hearings related to the project.

Finance Colombia has reached out to PriceSmart multiple times but to date has received no comment on the matter.

The second warehouse club being constructed in Medellín has been controversial as residents of the San Lucas neighborhood said that the warehouse will likely make it harder for them to live in the residential area, with the probability of increased traffic and noise and lesser accessibility within their community, Gente reported.

The complaints, which were highlighted during the meeting, said that the road and mobility design of the facility may not have accounted for the residential classification of the area, and that the design was not reviewed by the Planning Department despite being a special case, El Colombiano reported.

“The PriceSmart Poblado commercial project does not have correct approval of the urban design, therefore, what is being built today is not fully covered by authorizations or approval by the competent authorities,” the Undersecretariat for Urban Control said.

José Fernando Álvarez, a member of the El Poblado Environmental Board, is reportedly collecting signatures and the like to halt the project, saying about the matter”: “[This] is a predominantly residential area, it is not even half a mixture, and for that, urban environmental protocols must be complied with, that is, there must be enough parking spaces and a mobility study that does not affect the main roads.”

The Second Urban Curatorship of Medellín recently started a review process to formally revoke the licenses, with the Undersecretariat for Urban Control saying that the rules used to issue the licenses were for commercial areas and not for fully residential areas, which is where the location of the second warehouse is.