Colombia: Individuals declared a military objective (objetivo militar) (also translated as military target), including issuing authorities; ability to track individuals who are declared military objectives; state response (2021-August 2023)
1. Military Objective
In a December 2022 report on Colombia by the EU Agency for Asylum (EUAA), military target is defined as a "term used by armed groups or the state to demarcate a person deemed to be an opponent" (EU 2022-12-14, 11). In an interview with the Research Directorate, the Head of Colombia Programmes at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) [1], speaking on their own behalf, stated that a declaration as a military objective is a "threat to life" (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24). The same source indicated that there is "very real" danger that comes from receiving such a threat (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24). In an interview with the Research Directorate, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, speaking on their own behalf, stated that being designated a military objective is the "highest informal threat" that someone can receive, and the threat is "very serious" and "time sensitive," usually with a deadline between 24 and 72 hours (Senior Analyst 2023-08-02). In an interview with the Research Directorate, a Colombia-based independent researcher who focuses on security and organized crime in Mexico and Colombia indicated that the threat [translation] "can be deadly" and the military objective is at "risk" of "being assassinated" (Independent researcher 2023-07-31).
Sources indicated that a criminal or armed group declares a person a military objective to instill fear and to send a message to the broader area or community that they are in power (Senior Analyst 2022-01-10; Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24). According to sources, a military objective declaration is a threat to an individual and their family (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24; Senior Analyst 2023-08-02), because a threat to the life of family members is an "effective" tactic to ensure the person of interest will take the declaration seriously (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24). Sources reported that individuals declared military objectives have been killed (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24; Senior Analyst 2023-08-02). The independent researcher stated that "most" military objective threats [translation] "end with people being murdered" (2023-07-31).
Sources report that all criminal and armed groups use military objective declarations to threaten targets (Senior Analyst 2023-08-02; independent researcher 2023-07-31).
1.1 Motivation
The independent researcher indicated that the motivation for declaring someone a military objective is [translation] "multifaceted" (2023-07-31). Sources indicated that people who are declared military objectives are those who "threaten the power" of criminal and armed groups in the local community (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24) or who have "gotten on the wrong side" of the organization who has power in the area (Senior Analyst 2023-08-02). The Head of Colombia Programmes reported that a military objective declaration is a "warning" to the concerned person to leave the area and stop being vocal against the criminal group (2023-07-24). According to sources, this type of threat forces individuals to leave the community (Senior Analyst 2022-01-10; Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24; independent researcher 2023-07-31).
1.2 Methods for Announcing a Military Objective
According to the Head of Colombia Programmes, groups publicly declare military objectives by word of mouth and by issuing pamphlets (2022-07-24). The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2022 states that Colombia's Ombudsperson (Defensor del Pueblo) and members in regional offices "received threats from armed groups through pamphlets, email, and violent actions" (US 2023-03-20, 26). The independent researcher reported that there are multiple ways to declare someone a military objective, including a face-to-face threats, distributing and publicly posting pamphlets, and communicating through WhatsApp (2023-07-31).
For information on pamphlets produced by criminal groups declaring a person to be a military objective, including their appearance and distribution, see Response to Information Request COL200906 of February 2022.
2. People Declared Military Objectives
The Senior Analyst stated that anyone who is "on the wrong side" of the group in power in the area can be declared a military objective (2023-08-02). Sources mentioned human rights defenders as well as social and political leaders as [common (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24)] targets of the military objective designation (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24; Senior Analyst 2023-08-02; independent researcher 2023-07-31). The Head of Colombia Programmes further indicated that former FARC-EP combatants are "common[ly]" targeted as military objectives (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24). The independent researcher added that someone can be declared a military objective for being a member of the LGBT community (2023-07-31). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
Sources report the following instances of family members being included in military objective threats:
- In February 2022, "several" human rights defenders in Magdalena Medio were declared military targets and they and their families were ordered to leave the area within 48 hours (Amnesty International 2023-03-27, 132).
- According to a February 2021 report, a mayor of Cartagena del Chiairá in Caquetá department was declared a military objective and he and his family received [translation] "death threats" (Semana 2021-02-16)
The Head of Colombia Programmes indicated that the families of people declared military objectives "live in fear" (2023-07-24).
According to the Head of Colombia Programmes, this type of threat is "very common" in rural areas but has started to become common in urban areas too (2023-07-24). Regarding whether rural or urban areas are more affected by military objective threats, the Senior Analyst indicated that urban violence is "accelerating" (2023-08-02). The Head of Colombia Programmes stated that the areas of Pacífico Sur (Valle del Cauca, Cauca and Nariño departments), Bajo Cauca, Urabá (Nudo de Paramillo region), and Catatumbo (on the border with Venezuela) are "very affected" by violence and are therefore "very affected" by the use of military objectives (2023-07-24).
2.1 Instances of Groups Making Declarations
Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2022 [2] indicates that the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN) in the south of Bolivar and a FARC dissident group in Tumaco "warn[ed]" local populations that individuals who did not follow COVID-19 social distancing measures would be "treated as military targets" (2022, 15).
In February 2023, Agencia EFE (EFE) reported that the Gulf Clan (Clan del Golfo) [also known as the Gaitanista Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia, AGC), Los Urabeños and Clan Úsuga] had issued a statement declaring [translation] "several" political parties and human rights defenders to be military objectives and "directly threaten[ing]" nine members of congress, lawyers, and journalists, with the stated goal of "eradicating" opposition to their ideology (2023-02-06). Citing the Gulf Clan statement, the same source indicates that the armed group [translation] "guaranteed … 'military actions'" against a number of individuals if they did not resign by a certain date, instructing them to "leave the country or find themselves a funeral home" (EFE 2023-02-06). Justice for Colombia (JFC) [3] reports that the Gulf Clan on 13 January 2023 "issued threats against several environmental activists based in the Magdalena Medio region" and indicated they would become military objectives if they did not leave the region within 72 hours (2023-02-02). JFC also reports that in November 2022, the Gulf Clan distributed "threatening pamphlets in urban zones of eastern Antioquia" and declared "'all those who are against [their] social, political and military interests'" as military objectives (2022-12-01). A September 2022 article in El Espectador, a Spanish-language newspaper in Colombia, states that the Gulf Clan had recently issued two pamphlets declaring a number of people, including union and environmental leaders, journalists, and an ex-mayor, to be military targets in Puerto Wilches, Santander (2022-09-22).
Amnesty International reports that the Magdalena Medio Block of the FARC-EP declared the staff of the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (Corporación Regional para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos, CREDHOS), which works in the Magdalena Medio region, in a telephone call as "military objective[s]" on 24 March 2021 (2023-04-20). According to the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission (Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz, Justicia y Paz), a human rights organization that supports Afro-Colombians, indigenous and mixed-race communities and organizations in regions affected by conflict and violence in Colombia (PBI Colombia n.d.), in May 2023 [translation] "sources" informed Justicia y Paz that its members had been declared military objectives by the FARC group Estado Mayor Central (EMC), which accused them of being part of the ELN (2023-05-16).
JFC states that the Black Eagles (Águilas Negras) "purport[edly]" declared "'students, trade unionists, authorities and other organisations'" to be military objectives (2022-05-02). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. El Colombiano, a Spanish-language newspaper in Colombia, reports that the Black Eagles declared four judges and one associate judge to be military objectives for their decision to decriminalize abortion before 24 weeks (2022-03-08).
For more information on armed groups and criminal groups in Colombia, see Response to Information Requests COL201106 of June 2022, COL201062 of June 2022, and COL200696 of July 2021 and Colombia: Fact‐Finding Mission Report. Conflict Dynamics in the Post‐FARC‐EP Period and State Protection of March 2020.
3. Relocation and Tracking Military Objectives
The information in the following paragraph was provided by the Head of Colombia Programmes:
Whether an armed group will track a military objective after the person relocates to a different city will "depen[d]" on the group and the profile of the military objective, but a group "will keep track" of someone. Most people who receive this threat will go to a major urban centre because big cities make it easier to hide. In other cases, the group will not track the individual, because they only wanted to instill fear or to force the person out of the community. The Gulf Clan and ELN have the "widest scope of control in the country," and the Gulf Clan will hire someone in their "criminal network" to find and kill an individual in a different part of the country. However, no groups have a "full national presence" (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24).
The information in the following paragraph was provided by the Senior Analyst regarding tracking and the relocation of military objectives:
Being designated a military objective "means immediate displacement" for an individual and their family. Sometimes the person can safely relocate to a city, such as Bogotá or Medellín, and sometimes not. It depends on "how angry the group is." Every group in Colombia can "probably" track someone in any city (Senior Analyst 2023-08-02).
The information in the following paragraph was provided by the independent researcher:
The motivation and ability to track a military objective who has relocated to another city is dependent on the size of the group, their connections, and the profile of the military objective. If the group only wants the military objective to leave the area, they will not track them to another city. However, the group will track their target if motivated by "personal vengeance" or if their target is "causing a problem." Relocating within Colombia does not "guarantee" safety (Independent researcher 2023-07-31).
According to Semana, a Spanish-language magazine in Colombia, the mayor of Cartagena del Chairá was declared a military objective by a FARC dissident armed group and relocated to another city within the Caqueta department [translation] "to preserve his life and safety" (2021-02-16).
The Head of Colombia Programmes gave the example of a municipality whose mayor and city councillors all relocated to their department's capital because they were declared military objectives; they now run the government from the capital, and "one or two" councillors "have been killed" (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24). According to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) [4], two leaders from the Black Communities Council of Rincón Guapo Loverán (Consejo Comunitario de Comunidades Negras Rincón Guapo Loverán) were declared military objectives by the Gulf Clan and were given 24 hours to "leave town or face the consequences," which led them to relocate to another area in September 2022 (2022-09-22). For more information on Afro-Colombians in Colombia, see Response to Information Request COL201565 of August 2023.
For more information on criminal groups tracking targets, see Response to Information Request COL200703 of August 2021.
4. State Response
For more information on the security situation in Colombia, including state response, see Response to Information Request COL201567 of August 2023. For more information on mechanisms of state protection, see Response to Information Request COL201105 of July 2022.
Sources report that the National Protection Unit (Unidad Nacional de Protección, UNP) is "overwhelmed" (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24) or "overburdened and deeply corrupt" (Senior Analyst 2023-08-02). The Head of Colombia Programmes stated that the UNP cannot provide a bodyguard for everyone who has received a threat (2023-07-24). Similarly, the independent researcher stated that the government does not have the means to provide "guaranteed protection" to everyone who has been declared a military objective (2023-07-31). Sources state that environmental features in rural areas inhibit the protection system from working properly; for example, some rural communities are accessible only by water, meaning that an armoured car is not a feasible protection mechanism in those areas (Head of Colombia Programmes 2023-07-24; Senior Analyst 2023-08-02).
The Senior Analyst indicated that military objectives require immediate safety due to the 24-hour timeline of the threat; however, the UNP response time is between six to nine months (2023-08-02). Similarly, the Head of Colombia Programmes stated that the process for receiving protection is very slow and as they are waiting, military objectives will "disappear, be killed, receive more threats or be forced to leave their community or the country because the danger is too high" (2023-07-24).
According to the Senior Analyst, reporting the threat to the prosecutor's office (Fiscalía) or the police may put the military objective at more risk, as it makes the declaration public (2023-08-02). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
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 for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Notes
[1] The Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime (GI-TOC), an "independent civil-society organization" based in Geneva, is a network of members who are "dedicated to seeking new and innovative strategies and responses to organized crime" (GI-TOC n.d.).
[2] Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2022 "assesses the transformation toward democracy and a market economy as well as the quality of governance in 137 countries" (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2022, 2).
[3] Justice for Colombia (JFC) is a British trade union organization that supports the work of Colombian civil society (JFC n.d.).
[4] The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) is a research and advocacy organization for human rights in the Americas (WOLA n.d.).
References
Agencia EFE (EFE). 2023-02-06. "Clan del Golfo declara 'objetivo militar' a varios congresistas de izquierdas." [Accessed 2023-07-10]
Amnesty International. 2023-04-20. Urgent Action: Protect Human Rights Defender at Risk. [Accessed 2023-07-16]
Amnesty International. 2023-03-27. "Colombia." Amnesty International Report 2022/2023: The State of the World's Human Rights. [Accessed 2023-07-16]
Bertelsmann Stiftung. 2022. "Colombia Country Report." Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2022. [Accessed 2023-07-16]
Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz (Justicia y Paz). 2023-05-16. "Informe – Estado Mayor Central de las Farc declara objetivo militar a nuestra Comisión de Justicia y Paz." [Accessed 2023-07-26]
El Colombiano. 2022-03-08. "Ante amenazas, altas cortes piden reforzar protección de magistrados que despenalizaron el aborto." [Accessed 2023-07-11]
El Espectador. 2022-09-22. Daniela Bueno. "El riesgo de los líderes de Puerto Wilches, Santander." [Accessed 2023-07-11]
European Union (EU). 2022-12-14. European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA). Colombia: Country Focus. [Accessed 2023-07-12]
Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime (GI-TOC). N.d. "Our Story." [Accessed 2023-07-21]
Head of Colombia Programmes, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC). 2023-07-24. Interview with the Research Directorate.
Independent researcher, Colombia. 2023-07-31. Interview with the Research Directorate.
Justice for Colombia (JFC). 2023-02-02. "Colombia Human Rights Update January 2023." [Accessed 2023-07-24]
Justice for Colombia (JFC). 2022-12-01. "Colombia Human Rights Update November 2022." [Accessed 2023-07-24]
Justice for Colombia (JFC). 2022-05-02. "Colombia Human Rights Update April 2022." [Accessed 2023-07-24]
Justice for Colombia (JFC). N.d. "About JFC/Who We Are." [Accessed 2023-07-24]
Peace Brigades International Colombia (PBI Colombia). N.d. "J&P: Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission" [Accessed 2023-07-31]
Semana. 2021-02-16. "Alcalde de Cartagena del Chairá abandonó el municipio por amenazas de disidencias de las Farc." [Accessed 2023-07-11]
Senior Analyst, International Crisis Group. 2023-08-02. Interview with the Research Directorate.
Senior Analyst, International Crisis Group. 2022-01-10. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
United States (US). 2023-03-20. Department of State. "Colombia." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2022. [Accessed 2023-07-12]
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). 2022-09-22. Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli. "As Colombia Transitions, Abuses Continue." [Accessed 2023-07-26]
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 2023-07-26]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Corporación Nuevo Arco Iris; Front Line Defenders; Fundación Conflict Responses; Fundación Ideas para la Paz; Human Rights Watch; InSight Crime; Instituto de Estudios para el Desarrollo y la Paz; International Institute for Strategic Studies; Justice for Colombia; professor in Medellín who specializes in political economy of internal conflicts; Programa Somos Defensores; Reporters Without Borders; United States Institute of Peace; Washington Office on Latin America.
Internet sites, including: Austrian Red Cross – ecoi.net; Cambio; Colombia – Comisión de la Verdad, Defensoría del Pueblo, Ministerio de Defensa Nacional, Ministerio del Interior; EU – EU Institute for Security Studies; Factiva; Front Line Defenders; Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa; Global Organized Crime Index; The Independent; Infobae; InSight Crime; International Crisis Group; International Institute for Strategic Studies; The New York Times; Organization of American States – Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; UN – OHCHR, Refworld, Security Council; US – Congressional Research Service; The Washington Post.