Trapped between two groups, accused of being informants for either side
UN and Colombian Ombudsman report grave humanitarian crisis in Juradó with indigenous communities confined, threatened, and forcibly displaced by armed group violence. At least two civilians killed, one child forcibly recruited then released, and one young man disappeared while seeking protection during December 9-13 clashes.
- 137 people from 27 families forcibly displaced from Amba Patato to Juradó town center
- Clashes between ELN and Clan del Golfo occurred December 9-13, 2023 in Chocó
- At least 2 civilians killed; 1 child forcibly recruited; 1 young man disappeared
- Juradó municipality contains 14 indigenous communities and 5 Afro-Colombian settlements
Clashes between ELN guerrillas and Clan del Golfo paramilitaries in Colombia's Chocó region have killed civilians, displaced 137 people, and triggered UN concern over forced confinement and child recruitment.
In the second week of December, armed clashes erupted across the Chocó region in northwestern Colombia, trapping indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in their homes and forcing hundreds to flee. The fighting pitted guerrillas from the National Liberation Army (ELN) against paramilitaries from the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces, known as the Clan del Golfo—two of Colombia's most violent non-state armed groups competing for territorial control in one of the country's poorest and most remote departments.
The violence centered on Juradó, a municipality where fourteen indigenous communities and five Afro-Colombian settlements have lived for generations. Between December 9 and 13, residents found themselves caught between the two groups. The Eyazaque community, part of the Nusí Purrú indigenous reserve, received direct threats. Residents of Cedral were pinned down in crossfire. In Amba Patato, people were accused of being informants for one side or the other—accusations that carried a death sentence. Those accusations forced 137 people from 27 families to abandon their homes and seek refuge in Juradó's town center. During the fighting, an indigenous woman and an elderly man were killed in the streets.
One young man, already under protection in town after receiving threats, made the desperate decision to leave his shelter to seek better security. Criminals intercepted him while he was traveling by public boat. He has not been seen since. A girl was forcibly recruited by one of the armed groups, though she was later released. The Colombian Ombudsman's Office described the situation as a grave humanitarian crisis, with residents confined to their homes, unable to move freely, unable to work, unable to leave.
The United Nations Human Rights Office expressed alarm at the scale of the displacement and the targeting of families. The organization condemned the forced recruitment of the child and warned that the violence could spread to other municipalities along the Pacific coast. It called on both armed groups to respect international humanitarian law and reminded the Colombian state of its obligation to prevent the forced recruitment of minors.
The Colombian Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, convened an emergency security council to demand victim assistance and special protection for indigenous leaders and threatened individuals. He called for a stronger military presence in the affected areas to restore order and protect fundamental rights. Yet the presence of armed forces in Chocó has itself become part of the problem.
The ELN, currently in peace talks with the government in Mexico, released a statement through one of its fronts alleging that paramilitaries and members of the Navy's 21st Infantry Battalion had kidnapped, tortured, and killed three civilians on December 13. The guerrillas named Edaison Valois Valderrama, nineteen years old, who they said was tortured and forced to record a video claiming membership in the ELN and naming community members as collaborators. Two other men—Ezequiel Córdoba Isarama and Luis Roberto Betancur Caña, sixty-three—were also killed, according to the ELN's account. The paramilitaries allegedly dressed the bodies in ELN insignia for photographs. This practice, known in Colombia as false positives, has been used for years by security forces to inflate body counts and claim battlefield victories.
The ELN's statement alleged that military commanders at all levels were complicit in these killings as part of a counterinsurgency plan, and that the armed forces were sharing in the profits from drug trafficking controlled by the Clan del Golfo. These are serious allegations that point to a deeper entanglement between state security forces and criminal paramilitaries in the region. What happens next depends on whether the government investigates these claims, whether it can actually establish control in Juradó, and whether the peace talks with the ELN can survive the weight of accusations like these.
Citas Notables
We are concerned about confinement, mass displacement, and threats against indigenous Emberá families in Juradó, Chocó, resulting from clashes between non-state armed groups— UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
The inhabitants of Juradó are living through a grave humanitarian situation, forced to confine themselves to their homes due to the armed clashes— Colombian Ombudsman's Office
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does fighting between two criminal groups matter enough for the UN to issue a statement?
Because when armed groups fight in places where civilians live, the civilians become the casualties. Juradó isn't a military zone—it's a municipality of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. They're not combatants. They're trapped.
But displacement happens in conflicts all over the world. What makes this particular crisis significant?
The scale relative to the place. Juradó has fourteen indigenous reserves and five Afro-Colombian settlements. When 137 people flee in a few days, that's not a trickle—that's a rupture. And the targeting is deliberate. People are accused of being informants just to justify killing them.
The ELN is in peace talks with the government. How does that square with them fighting paramilitaries in Chocó?
It doesn't. That's the contradiction at the heart of this. The ELN is negotiating in Mexico while their fronts on the ground are still waging war. Either the talks are theater, or the field commanders aren't listening to leadership.
What's a false positive in this context?
It's when security forces kill civilians and present them as enemy combatants to inflate their record. The ELN is alleging that paramilitaries and Navy personnel killed three men, dressed them in ELN insignia, and claimed they were guerrillas. It's a way to manufacture legitimacy for killings.
If that's true, why would the military cooperate with paramilitaries?
Control and profit. The Clan del Golfo runs cocaine through Chocó. The military presence there is supposed to stop that. But if commanders are taking a cut, they have every reason to eliminate rivals—including the ELN—and protect their business partners.
So the real problem isn't just the armed groups fighting. It's that the state itself might be part of the violence.
Exactly. When the institution meant to protect civilians is accused of collaborating with the criminals, the entire system of protection collapses. That's why the Ombudsman called it a grave humanitarian crisis. There's nowhere safe to turn.