On 30 November 2024 and again on 2 January 2025, the civil society organization CREDHOS publicly denounced assassination plans by the armed group EGC against its president Iván Madero. Civil society organizations working for human rights, land rights and environmental protection in the northern Colombian region of Magdalena Medio, including CREDHOS and FEDEPESAN, have been threatened and stigmatized for over a year. They are increasingly being targeted in the struggle by armed groups for territorial, political, economic and social control. The Colombian authorities must ensure that these organizations are protected.
What’s the problem?
The increasing threat to members of civil society organizations and members of smallholder communities in the northern Colombian region of Magdalena Medio is a cause for great concern. The Federación de Pescadores artesanales, ambientalistas, y turísticos del departamento de Santander (FEDEPESAN) and the organization CREDHOS (Corporación Regional para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos), which are based in the city of Barrancabermeja, are particularly affected.
CREDHOS publicly denounced that on 30 October 2024, written threats were published against CREDHOS, FEDEPESAN and other civil society organizations under the name Ejército Gaitanista de Colombia (EGC). On January 1, 2025, another public threat against CREDHOS was made public. This follows many other threats that have been made public in recent months. The human rights groups concerned have been directly threatened by armed groups operating in the region, declared “military targets” and furthermore stigmatized as collaborators of criminal gangs in the region. The EGC also tried to force them to leave the area. CREDHOS has also denounced the damage caused to entire communities in Magdalena Medio. For example, the EGC threatened the entire local community assembly of San Lorenzo in the municipality of Cantagallo in the department of Bolívar in order to bring it under its control and force the eviction of several families. CREDHOS documented in October and November 2024 that people in the rural areas of Magdalena Medio had heard of EGC plans to attack CREDHOS president Iván Madero.
Amnesty International has been documenting the threat to human rights defenders in Colombia for years. The human rights organization has drawn attention to the situation both in personal conversations with representatives of the authorities and through public appeals and campaigns on social and digital platforms. However, those affected and their communities continue to be threatened and attacked simply for defending their rights. The Colombian authorities’ response to protect human rights defenders at risk is inadequate.
Stand up for the safety of Iván Maduro!
Link to action (german): Website of Amnesty International
Background information
The Magdalena Medio region comprises an extensive valley through which the Magdalena River flows. Oil is one of the most important economic resources in the region. The town of Barrancabermeja is located in the heart of Magdalena Medio in the province of Santander. The largest refinery in the country operates there. The area is also home to agribusiness, mining, livestock farming and other economic sectors. In the Magdalena Medio region, there has been a tradition of grassroots democratic organization and a commitment to human rights for decades. Trade union, feminist and human rights movements make up the particularly strong civil society there. This commitment against various forms of injustice on the one hand and the dispute over territorial, political and economic control in the region between various interest groups – including armed ones – on the other have created a breeding ground for violence against human rights defenders, which has been ongoing since the 1980s, if not longer. In 2023, alarmingly high numbers of acts of violence against the civilian population, especially homicides, were recorded in Magdalena Medio. All of this is happening against the backdrop of the reorganization of at least four armed groups present in the region, including the EGC, also known as AGC or Clan del Golfo, currently the largest armed group in the country, which largely controls the region.
The Federación de Pescadores artesanales, ambientalistas, y turísticos del departamento de Santander (FEDEPESAN) is active on Lake San Silvestre near the town of Barrancabermeja. FEDEPESAN fights against water pollution by regional companies and the presence of criminal organizations involved in drug and human trafficking – including through legal means. In this context, the president of FEDEPESAN, Yuly Velázquez, has experienced numerous threats and attacks documented by Amnesty International, including a threat in November 2020, shots fired at her home in January 2021, intimidation during protests in August 2021, an attack with a firearm in May 2022 and another in July 2022 (in which a security guard of her protection program was injured). Following threats against the vice president of FEDEPESAN in February 2021 by the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN), Amnesty International launched an Urgent Action at the time. Amnesty has also documented shortcomings in the implementation of the protection program provided by the Colombian government to Yuly Velásquez through the National Protection Unit (UNP) due to her high risk.
The independent human rights organization CREDHOS (Corporación Regional para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos) was founded in 1987 and has been supported by Amnesty International for several years. In 2000, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ordered protective measures for CREDHOS due to threats from paramilitary groups. In 2016, the Colombian government’s compensation body recognized CREDHOS as an organization entitled to collective reparation, as its members had suffered serious human rights violations in the context of the armed conflict.
CREDHOS has highlighted recent operations by the Colombian police and the Attorney General’s Office against the EGC, such as the arrest of AKA “Bernabé” in September 2024, who is accused of being responsible for the murder of Filadelfo Anzola, a human rights defender and member of CREDHOS. However, CREDHOS’ analysis highlights the involvement of members and former members of the armed forces in the EGC armed group. For example, in September 2024, a police operation against the EGC led to the killing of AKA “Zeus”, a retired member of the Colombian army who had been admitted as a witness before the Transitional Court (the Special Jurisdiction for Peace – JEP) until August and had previously been denounced by CREDHOS as a commander of the EGC in the Magdalena Medio region. In addition, retired Colombian army colonel José Alejandro Castro Cadavid was detained by the police. He was an active member of the army until 2022 and is accused by the Attorney General’s Office of being the commander of the EGC in the south of the department of Bolivar, an area that belongs to the Magdalena Medio region.
Amnesty International has confirmed that CREDHOS members have continued to be threatened and attacked in recent years in connection with the presence of armed organizations in the area where CREDHOS operates. In April 2021, Amnesty International called for the protection of CREDHOS members in an Urgent Action, as they were under massive threat at the time. The current protection provided by the Colombian government is not sufficient to effectively counter the scale of the threat that CREDHOS has faced in recent years. On 9 February 2024, Amnesty International called for protection for CREDHOS in another Urgent Action after various armed groups in the region issued public threats against the organization’s president in leaflets. On 14 February, CREDHOS publicly denounced that on the night of 13 February, a female member of the organization was attacked when two people threw a hand grenade into her house. Several members of her family were injured by the explosion. In a second Urgent Action published on the same day, Amnesty International called on the Attorney General to investigate the attacks on CREDHOS members. This third Urgent Action follows announcements by CREDHOS in November 2024 and January 2025.