CPTnet
1 June 2007
 MICOAHUMADO, COLOMBIA: Army blocks road for three days

by Michele Braley

On 7 May 2007, CPT received a call from a mining community leader in
Micoahumado, reporting the Colombian Army had put up a roadblock at the
entrance to their community and was refusing to allow food or people to move
in or out. Reportedly, the Army is searching for thirty-two people,
including two residents of this community it says are guerrilla supporters.
These accusations are possibly true, but it is also possible that the Army
has used unreliable reporters for their information. The Army may also use
extrajudicial methods, including assassinations, to punish the possible
offenders [See 28 May 2007 CPTnet release, "You're right! Like you say,
they are intimidated."]

>From 10- 15 May, CPTers Stewart Vriesinga and Michele Braley visited the
Micoahumado region, including the blockaded mining community. In La Plaza,
the county's capital, they heard several reports that a unit of the Nueva
Granada battalion had for three days prevented both food and people from
passing between La Plaza and the mine. In a mining community that has few
of its own agricultural resources, several days without food deliveries has
the potential to become more than just inconvenient. The tactic also
instills fear in the community. Braley talked with a woman who was
concerned about her brother, a teacher, whom she had heard the army had
prevented from returning to the community on 9 May.

Braley and Vriesinga traveled by truck for one hour and by mule for three
hours from La Plaza to the mining community. Along the route, they
encountered a few soldiers scattered along the mule path and a dozen
soldiers with hammocks strung in the trees, making lunch in their camp. The
CPTers questioned the sergeant about the roadblock; he insisted they had put
it in place for only one day, 7 May, because he understands the need for
goods to get into the town.

Once in the mining community, the CPTers spoke directly with the teacher.
He confirmed that the day before, two days after the sergeant insisted he
had ended the roadblock, the army denied him entry into the town, thus also
denying the students their teacher. Several people reported they had no
phone service during the blockade and that they suspected that the Army had
interrupted it. When Braley and Vriesinga returned to La Plaza two days
later, the Army was no longer camped on the path nor were they visible along
the route.

Back in La Plaza, the CPTers attempted to phone the mining community but the
community phone was not working. After several attempts, the CPTers were
relieved finally to speak to community members in the evening, who assured
them that everything was still calm. For now, the soldiers have moved on,
but the uncertainty and fear lingers among members of the community.