Violence in or around the city of Barranquilla, capital of Atlantico department, in 2001 and 2002 has been attributed to both guerrilla and paramilitary groups, and it ranges from bomb detonations in public areas to selective assassinations.

In July 2002, the mayor of Barranquilla, Humberto Caiaffa, and his counterparts from other cities in Colombia announced a "civil resistance campaign" in opposition of the death threats recently issued by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) against local authorities (IPS 22 July 2002). Protest marches against the threats were carried out on 21 July 2002 in various cities, including Barranquilla (Weekly News Update 28 July 2002).

On 14 April 2002, the FARC reportedly detonated a bomb in Barranquilla, targeting then-presidential candidate Alvaro Uribe (DEA 24 Apr. 2002; BBC 15 Apr. 2002). Earlier in Uribe's campaign, a bomb went off on a Barranquilla avenue shortly after he had passed by that site (EFE 4 Nov. 2001).

An October 2001 report on the National Liberation Army (ELN) expanding its operations to Atlantic urban centres refers to the explosion of two bombs in or near Barranquilla on the morning the report was written: one at a shopping facility in the municipality of Soledad and another at a shopping centre in the southern area of the city of Barranquilla (Caracol 26 Oct. 2001).

During the 2001 Americas Soccer Cup (Copa América), Barranquilla was described as a city undergoing bomb threats (AFP 25 May 2001). Earlier in the year, a report on stronger efforts by the Colombian government to fight paramilitary groups states that "crude oil is taken from down the river to the Caribbean port of Barranquilla for export," adding that "the city and its surroundings is the focus of a ruthless territorial fight between leftist rebels and paramilitary groups that has claimed some 27 lives so far this year" (ibid 11 Jan. 2001). The report adds that "oil workers, pipelines and refineries - Colombia's largest - are often the target of attacks" (ibid.).

In April 2001 the vice-president of the Hospital Workers' Union of Barranquilla was murdered near the city (BBC 3 Apr. 2001). He was killed outside his home in the neighbouring municipality of Soledad, and was reportedly among 50 union activists named in a list of unionists targeted by paramilitaries (Weekly News Update 8 Apr. 2001). The previous month, the treasurer of a public service union was reportedly murdered by paramilitaries in Barranquilla (AFP 17 Apr. 2002).

A human rights report covering 2001 published by the Human Rights Monitor (Observatorio de Derechos Humanos) of the government of Colombia states that Barranquilla is one of several cities where it is sometimes impossible to distinguish killings committed by paramilitaries from those committed by other armed and criminal groups (ODH 2002).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 17 April 2002. "Défenseur des droits de l'homme, mission de tous les dangers." (NEXIS)

_____. 25 May 2001. Jacques Thomet. "Le terrorisme fait quatre morts à Bogota et menace la Copa America." (NEXIS)

_____. 11 January 2001. Pablo Rodriguez. "Colombia Gets Tough With Paramilitaries." (NEXIS)

BBC World News. 15 April 2002. "Bomb Targets Colombian Candidate." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1929986.stm [Accessed 15 Aug. 2002]

_____. 3 April 2001. "Union Leader Shot Dead in Colombia." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1257246.stm [Accessed 15 Aug. 2002]

Caracol, Bogota. 26 October 2001. "Colombia: ELN Guerrillas to Extend Violence to Cities on Northern Coast." (BBC Worldwide Monitoring/NEXIS)

United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Washington, DC. 24 April 2002. "DEA Congressional Testimony." http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/cngrtest/ct042402.html [Accessed 15 Aug. 2002]

EFE News Service. 4 November 2001. "Colombia-Bomb Explodes in Colombia After Candidate's Visit." (NEXIS)

Inter Press Service (IPS). 22 July 2002. Yadira Ferrer. "Colombia-Fleeing Death Threats, Mayors Govern From Afar." (NEXIS)

Observatorio de Derechos Humanos (ODH), Bogota. 2002. Colombia, Conflicto Armado, Regiones, Derechos Humanos y DIH 1998-2002. "Algunas Anotaciones Sobre Las Ciudades." http://www.derechoshumanos.gov.co/observatorio/04_publicaciones/04_02_temas/Conflicto/conflicto.pdf [Accessed 15 Aug. 2002]

Weekly News Update on the Americas [New York]. 28 July 2002. "Colombia-Women March Against War." (wnu@igc.apc.org) [Accessed 28 July 2002]

_____. 8 April 2001. "Colombia: Unions Protest Leader's Murder." (wnu@igc.apc.org) [Accessed 9 Apr. 2001]