Hostages taken by anti-oil firm protesters in Colombia are freed

Reuters

Colombia's Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez speaks with a police officer who, along with other police officers, were detained by rural and indigenous communities, according to authorities, who are demanding that the oil company Emerald Energy build roads in San Vicente del Caguan, Colombia March 3, 2023. Colombian Ministry of Defense/Handout via REUTERS

BOGOTA, March 3 (Reuters) - A group of 88 police officers and employees of oil firm Emerald Energy taken hostage in Colombia amid a deadly protest against the company have been freed, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Friday.

On Thursday, a police officer and a civilian were killed during the violent protest in Caqueta province. Rural and indigenous protesters also took 79 police officers and nine Emerald employees hostage, blocked access to an oil field, and set a fire to demand the company fix roads in the area, authorities said.

The two deaths were caused by gunfire, Interior Minster Alfonso Prada said earlier on Friday, adding that while the protests were led by rural farmers, armed groups also operate nearby.

Petro confirmed the hostages had been freed Friday, calling on investigators to find those responsible for the deaths.

Emerald Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Protests and blockades are common in Colombia near oil and mining projects, with many local residents demanding improved infrastructure or other benefits to the area.

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Seventy nine police officers have been held by farmers and Indigenous peoples in San Vicente del Caguan, in the Caqueta Department of Colombia, where the Emerald Energy oil company operates.

The group of farmers are protesting the destruction of the roads by the company's tank cars that transport the fuel and have been demanding for several weeks the paving of 42 kilometers of the road that connects San Vicente del Caguan with Las Delicias.

On Thursday morning, the police arrived at the scene after violent protesters set a fire and tried to take over the company's facilities. The confrontations left a policeman and a civilian killed. Nine oilfield workers were also captured alongside the police officers.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Twitter that the Minister of Defense Ivan Velasquez will be in San Vicente del Caguan on Friday.

“The unilateral release of the policemen and the protection of their integrity is paramount for the government,” he said.

Petro called on the attorney general to investigate the killings and the Red Cross to attend to those being held hostage.

Videos show the hostages spending the night on a community room floor. The murder of the policeman by the members of rural and Indigenous communities has prompted a response from the police chief, General Henry Sanabria.

"It is disconcerting the savage manner in which they ended the life of Deputy Superintendent Ricardo Arley Monroy Prieto, when he was protecting people frightened by the onslaught of a pack that favored chaos over dialogue," Sanabria wrote on Twitter.

Audios have been released in which a uniformed man desperately asked an army commander for a helicopter to take out the wounded police officer and help them repel the attack.

"What's going on? Some support. Two hours holding out, my general. Two hours, my general. I have a seriously wounded comrade, my general," pleaded the policeman. "There are no human rights for us, what are we waiting for, for them to finish us all off?”

The Mayor of San Vicente del Caguan, Julian Perdomo, has made urgent appeals to the government to retake control of the area. He said that it is "regrettable that 90% of the company's infrastructure was destroyed and, in addition to being set on fire, it was also looted. With these acts, almost 500 people were left without work".​​​​​​​

Protesters in Colombia clash with oil company and take hostages

A civilian and police officer have died in violent demonstrations calling for Emerald Energy to invest in rural communities.

Colombia’s human rights ombudsman meets with police and demonstrators in San Vicente del Caguan, Colombia, on March 2 [Colombian Ombudsman Office/Reuters]

By Christina Noriega
Published On 3 Mar 20233 Mar 2023

Caracas, Venezuela – Colombia’s Defence Minister Ivan Velasquez and the commander of its armed forces, Helder Giraldo, have landed in Caqueta province to seek the release of dozens of police officers and oilfield workers taken hostage during deadly protests.

At least 79 police officers and nine oilfield workers have been held since Thursday, as protesters demand that the oil company Emerald Energy invest in surrounding rural communities.

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An officer and civilian died in confrontations between riot police and protesters, as demonstrators took control of the oil company’s offices. Police sources indicate that the civilian was shot to death, while the officer suffered a stab wound.

“The homicide of Subintendant Ricardo Arley Monroy, who was mercilessly killed when he was defenceless in the power of his captors, deserves general repudiation,” Velasquez tweeted late on Thursday, referring to the police officer killed. “Nothing, nothing justifies this act.”

Other cabinet ministers are expected to join Velasquez and Giraldo on Friday in San Vicente del Caguan, a town in southern Colombia where much of the violence is centred. They include Minister of the Interior Alfonso Prada and Minister of Transportation Guillermo Reyes.

Colombian Defence Minister Ivan Velasquez has travelled to San Vicente del Caguan to address demonstrations by rural residents [File: Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters]

On Friday, the office of Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, announced that six oilfield workers remained in the protesters’ custody, down from the nine reported earlier in the week. There was no update on the number of police officers held, however.

“It’s important that farmers free the police that they have in their custody,” Velasquez tweeted.

Petro echoed calls for the hostages’ release. “I insist on the unilateral release of the police officers,” he posted on Twitter. “The protection of their integrity is essential for the government.”

Twenty-two protesters have also been injured, according to a local farming association involved in the demonstrations.

Police told the news agency Reuters that dissidents from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a disbanded rebel group, could be involved in the violence. In 2016, the FARC signed a peace deal that some members rejected, in favour of continued armed action.

But Alexander Ospina, a spokesperson for the communities involved in the protests, told Al Jazeera he had seen no indication of involvement from FARC dissidents. He said such rumours seemed intended to delegitimise the rural communities’ fight.

Protesters have called for Emerald Energy to help fix roads and invest in local institutions, including schools. As part of the unrest, members of local communities have blocked access to one of the company’s oilfields.

President Gustavo Petro has called for the hostages to be released as tensions between an oil company and rural communities ramp up [File: Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters]

Ospina said demonstrators are waiting for the arrival of government officials to begin talks. They hope to reach a deal with the government over what they consider Emerald Energy’s obligation to build infrastructure for local communities and provide compensation for environmental damage.

“To de-escalate the situation, we need to sign agreements with the government that correspond to our reality,” Ospina said. “If the oil companies don’t want to invest in our communities, then the government should remove the oil companies from our lands.”

But Prada, Colombia’s Interior minister, has announced that the government will only fully enter negotiations with the protesters once the hostages are freed.

“We have said that an absolutely insurmountable requirement to sit down to talk with a large body of the national government in relation to the social issues of the community is naturally the immediate release of our members of the National Police and six workers,” Prada said.

About 4,000 farmers, representing more than 150 farming and Indigenous communities, are present for the protests, Ospina said.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA