On 29 March 2025, the Colombian Army arrived in Cajibío. According to the Army they were looking for FARC dissidents, and specifically the Jaime Martinez column. The Colombian Army arrived at a time when the civilian population was taking part in a “mobilization” [1] in “defence of their territory”.

According to the Red por la Vida y Derecho Humanos de Cauca (the Cauca Coalition for Life and Human Rights) during the Army operation, Luis Álvaro Garzón Pino, a passerby, was shot and wounded in the arm. He was taken to the Cajibío health centre, where he was allegedly pressurised by the Army in an effort to get him to say that he was a guerrilla. He was subsequently sent to the San José Hospital in Popayán.

The Red por la Vida y Derecho Humanos de Cauca further report that the communities of the villages adjacent to the site where this happened, stated that there was no presence of illegal armed actors in the area, and that the Army entered the territory chasing the local population and shooting indiscriminately as they fled between the villages of La Venta, La Cima and La Viuda. Simultaneously the Army restricted the mobility of the population and intimidated them by shooting into the air. While these events were taking place.

Therefore, the Red por la Vida y Derecho Humanos de Cauca is demanding an investigation into the actions of the Army unit from the Infantry Battalion No. 7 (Brigade No. 29) that carried out the actions outlined above.

They are calling on the Colombian Government to: ensure that the security forces do not stigmatize the local civilian population
review their intervention protocols, which should be linked to human rights and International Humanitarian Law

The Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoría del Pueblo) to:
• insist that the Security Forces, investigate the facts,
• accompany the communities
• provide guarantees to the person injured in the events.

The Human Rights Office of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence to:
• advance pertinent investigations in relation to the events that occurred and into the lieutenant colonel in charge of the operation
• into the disproportionate use of weapons directed against the civilian population.

They are also calling for a national and international verification mission to verify the facts.
Requesting that the media to disseminate information.

Alongside this they express concerns, alleging an alliance between the multinational Smurfit Westrock and the security forces to stigmatize and persecute the peasant communities of Cajibío, Cauca.

______________________________________

[1] Mobilisation is a type of protest. A large gathering to express the wishes of the local people and for transformative change