The people of Buenaventura have been experiencing an escalation of the conflict since 2020. Today, all eyes are on the port city, because since last December 30, the lives of 170,500 people are at risk due to clashes between “Los Shotas” and “Los Espartanos”, two factions of “La Local”, a group inherited from paramilitarism. So far in 2021, according to the Pacific Regional Ombudsman’s Office, due to more than 38 confrontations that have taken place in the urban area of Buenaventura in January, 907 families – around 2186 people – have had to be forcibly displaced from their neighborhoods and 22 people have been killed, mostly young people between 16 and 35 years old who have refused to be recruited by these groups.
Tag Archives: Buenaventura
2017: Buenaventura’s Civic Strike
In May 2017, the people of Buenaventura took to the streets to demand better living conditions and a fulfillment of their basic rights. After 22 days of peaceful protests Continue reading 2017: Buenaventura’s Civic Strike
2014: The first urban humanitarian space in the world
There has always been a constant presence of illegal armed groups in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca. A latent fear permeates the streets, derived from the various forms of social control that these groups exercise over the local population. Continue reading 2014: The first urban humanitarian space in the world
Defending the voice of the Afro communities: Leyla Arroyo
Buenaventura is a region inhabited by an Afro-descendant, indigenous and mixed ethnicity population and is the largest urban and economic hub on the Colombian Pacific Coast. Continue reading Defending the voice of the Afro communities: Leyla Arroyo
SELF-CARE AS A POLITICAL PROJECT
PBI’s work in support of the reconstruction of the social fabric is oriented to address fear and ruptures in organizational initiatives affected by sociopolitical violence. Continue reading SELF-CARE AS A POLITICAL PROJECT