Document #1203901
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Please find attached several documents that
discuss paramilitary groups in Colombia. Information on a group
called "Chamizo" could not be found among the sources currently
available to the DIRB.
One of the most recent and detailed
descriptions of Colombia's paramilitary groups is contained in an
article from El Tiempo (16 Apr. 1992). The article quotes
analysts as stating that "28 paramilitary organizations with some
7,000 men are now operating in an isolated fashion in 16
departments of Colombia," and adds that "these networks enjoy local
power in their own spheres of influence and are financed by drug
traffickers, cattle ranchers, peasants, and even foreigners"
(ibid.). The report names areas where paramilitary organizations
are linked to drug traffickers and adds that in at least one area
an emerging paramilitary organization "is subsidized by Venezuelan
ranchers and merchants who live near the border and are harassed by
guerrilla activities" (ibid.).
The El Tiempo article reports that
"the loss of the original identity as a response to terrorist
aggression began with the Medellin Cartel's penetration of its
structure between 1987 and 1990," adding that after the murder of a
paramilitary leader "three different factions emerged: groups
seeking to go back to the ideology that initially inspired the
movement, others still connected with drug trafficking, and sectors
that prefer disarmament" (ibid.). Finally, the article refers to
paramilitary forces training centres, some of them located in
jungle areas and reportedly run by British and Israeli mercenaries
between 1987 and 1989, although new ones have been established in
other areas of the country (ibid.).
The attached chapter entitled "Paramilitary
Violence" from the 1990 Americas Watch report The "Drug War" in
Colombia also provides details on the organization and
activities of paramilitary groups. The attached chapter entitled
"Subsistence of Paramilitary Violence" from the 1992 Americas Watch
report Political Murder and Reform in Colombia provides
additional and updated information on this subject. This response
was prepared after researching publicly accessible information
currently available to the DIRB 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. Please
find attached the list of sources consulted in researching this
Information Request.
El Tiempo [Bogot , in Spanish].
16 April 1992. "Structure of Paramilitary Groups Described."
(FBIS-LAT-92-102 27 May 1992, 34-35)
Americas Watch. April 1992. Political
Murder and Reform in Colombia. Washington, DC: Human Rights
Watch, pp. 8-16.
. October 1990. The "Drug War" in
Colombia: The Neglected Tragedy of Political Violence.
Washington, DC: Human Rights Watch, pp. 9-30.
El Tiempo [Bogot , in Spanish].
16 April 1992. "Structure of Paramilitary Groups Described."
(FBIS-LAT-92-102 27 May 1992, 34-35)
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. 14
November 1989. Colombia: The Rule of Law Under Attack. New
York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, pp. 3-4.