Wednesday April 5, 2023 - Colombia - Brazilian gangs behind violence, Colombia deadliest country, Benefits of Venezuela relationship

These are the trending news headlines in Colombia on Wednesday April 5, 2023

Brazilian gangs are believed to be behind the surging violence in the Colombia-Brazil-Peru tri-border area, as they fight for control of the key drug trafficking corridor. Local news outlet La Silla Vacía reported that two people were killed and two others wounded in Leticia, the capital city of Colombia’s Amazonas department, between March 24 and March 26, while a Colombian national was killed in Tabatinga, the Brazilian town on the border with Leticia. Authorities suspect that the perpetrators of the attacks are connected to Brazilian groups from Tabatinga, which have established themselves in Colombia. The violence is the result of a dispute between the Red Command and the Crias, two Brazilian criminal organizations, with the former allied with Colombian groups including the Caqueteños. Murders have increased by 33% in 2022, with 32 killings recorded, according to the Colombian National Police.

In 2022, Colombia was the deadliest country in the world for human rights defenders, accounting for 46% of the global total registered last year, according to a report from Front Line Defenders. Latin America and Ukraine together accounted for 80% of the 401 deaths of rights defenders across the globe, with Colombia seeing more than three times the number of human rights mur  ders than Ukraine. Defenders working on the protection of land, environmental and Indigenous peoples' rights were the most frequently targeted. Indigenous rights defenders accounted for 22% of the total global killings across all human rights sectors last year. Environmental and Indigenous rights defenders were also disproportionately targeted in Colombia last year, with 88 environmental and Indigenous rights defenders killed. The country recorded 186 killings of rights defenders in 2022. The international community must stand in solidarity with them and do all they can to protect defenders, Front Line Defenders’ interim director, Olive Moore, said.

After seven years of diplomatic disputes and border closures, Venezuela and Colombia are finally seeing the benefits of renewed ties. The border town of San Antonio del Táchira is once again bustling with activity as customs officials inspect tractor trailers loaded with imports from Colombia, including mundane cargo such as detergent, tobacco, and crates of mayonnaise. Warehouse owner Emilio Gutiérrez, who had to resettle in Colombia due to the closures, is thrilled to have reopened his business and believes that the border will once again become one of the busiest in Latin America. The trade between the two countries had peaked at $7 billion in 2007, but it had dwindled down to just $300 million in 2021 due to diplomatic tensions. However, with the recent improvements in relations, formal trade is expected to increase significantly, bringing jobs and economic benefits to both countries.

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