The north of Santander, department located to the east of Colombia on the borders with the State Táchira of Venezuela has as capital the city of Cúcuta. February 23 this city will be the epicenter of a humanitarian aid media prefabrication which aims to create the psychological and political conditions for a military aggression against Venezuela
We wonder why this “humanitarian aid and concern” is not addressed to the population of Norte de Santander, which has alarming figures regarding a humanitarian crisis that no one sees, which of course is not politically profitable to the Latin American right, thus bordering on contempt for humanity. The thesis of humanitarian interference is cynical and hypocritical; it is only applicable to governments and states that are not in the plebeian orbit of the empire.
Let us examine the picture of this humanitarian drama in Norte de Santander:
In recent decades, this region, and in particular its capital, has served as a laboratory for the State’s counterinsurgency strategy, which combines the state constitutional military forces and private mercenary armies known as paramilitaries, which depend in terms of command, communication, control and logistics on the commanders of the military brigades in the territory. Under the doctrine of depriving fish of water, the counterinsurgency has deployed terror against the civilian population.
The most outrageous fact against the dignity of humanity has been the existence of crematoriums in the city of Cúcuta where leaders of opposition to the political regime were burned and disappeared, regarding this event one can judge the versions of the paramilitary perpetrator called the Iguano, who coldly narrates the facts.[1]
The statistics of the human rights tragedy endured for decades in Norte de Santander are detailed in the statistics of the Single Registry of Victims, which we present below:
Violation of human rights in Norte de Santander 1984 to 2018
| TABLA NÚMERO 1. PERSONAS VÍCTIMAS DE VIOLACIÓN DE DERECHOS HUMANOS EN NORTE DE SANTANDER | ||||||
| Amenaza | Desaparicion forzada | Desplazamiento | Asesinato de líderes | Tortura | Total general | |
| 1984 | 1 | 92 | 143 | 218 | 20 | 474 |
| 1985 | 6 | 16 | 125 | 75 | 222 | |
| 1986 | 8 | 20 | 150 | 75 | 253 | |
| 1987 | 19 | 24 | 199 | 113 | 355 | |
| 1988 | 14 | 16 | 208 | 143 | 381 | |
| 1989 | 15 | 33 | 247 | 179 | 2 | 476 |
| 1990 | 47 | 38 | 297 | 176 | 558 | |
| 1991 | 31 | 12 | 257 | 186 | 6 | 492 |
| 1992 | 36 | 27 | 299 | 188 | 2 | 552 |
| 1993 | 21 | 30 | 284 | 175 | 510 | |
| 1994 | 47 | 29 | 302 | 182 | 2 | 562 |
| 1995 | 57 | 31 | 317 | 179 | 4 | 588 |
| 1996 | 39 | 38 | 342 | 245 | 5 | 669 |
| 1997 | 39 | 50 | 378 | 237 | 15 | 719 |
| 1998 | 70 | 56 | 459 | 236 | 8 | 829 |
| 1999 | 95 | 82 | 616 | 289 | 12 | 1094 |
| 2000 | 95 | 110 | 652 | 335 | 17 | 1209 |
| 2001 | 103 | 127 | 733 | 359 | 17 | 1339 |
| 2002 | 129 | 141 | 882 | 419 | 32 | 1603 |
| 2003 | 121 | 129 | 814 | 376 | 27 | 1467 |
| 2004 | 95 | 91 | 920 | 293 | 17 | 1416 |
| 2005 | 60 | 76 | 892 | 264 | 6 | 1298 |
| 2006 | 64 | 52 | 915 | 257 | 7 | 1295 |
| 2007 | 66 | 81 | 895 | 256 | 4 | 1302 |
| 2008 | 58 | 31 | 789 | 205 | 4 | 1087 |
| 2009 | 71 | 39 | 576 | 162 | 3 | 851 |
| 2010 | 63 | 46 | 520 | 155 | 2 | 786 |
| 2011 | 103 | 41 | 525 | 135 | 3 | 807 |
| 2012 | 185 | 45 | 545 | 172 | 8 | 955 |
| 2013 | 172 | 14 | 631 | 114 | 11 | 942 |
| 2014 | 202 | 8 | 606 | 70 | 5 | 891 |
| 2015 | 177 | 6 | 673 | 46 | 2 | 904 |
| 2016 | 221 | 2 | 589 | 76 | 1 | 889 |
| 2017 | 210 | 4 | 523 | 63 | 1 | 801 |
| 2018 | 270 | 4 | 645 | 71 | 990 | |
| TOTAL | 3010 | 1641 | 17948 | 6724 | 243 | 29566 |
FUENTE: Unidad para las Víctimas, Registro Único de Víctimas. Red Nacional de Información, 2018. https://www.unidadvictimas.gov.co/es/registro-unico-de-victimas-ruv/37394
Human Rights Violation by Municipality
| TABLA NÚMERO 2. VIOLACIÓN DE DERECHOS HUMANOS POR MUNICIPIO NORTE DE SANTANDER ENTRE 1984 Y 2018 | ||||||
| Amenaza | Desaparicion forzada | Desplazamiento | Homicidio | Tortura | TOTAL | |
| ABREGO | 115 | 43 | 775 | 249 | 17 | 1199 |
| ARBOLEDAS | 47 | 17 | 407 | 137 | 1 | 609 |
| BOCHALEMA | 9 | 3 | 117 | 62 | 191 | |
| BUCARASICA | 47 | 3 | 394 | 65 | 509 | |
| CACHIRA | 69 | 27 | 502 | 151 | 14 | 763 |
| CACOTA | 9 | 2 | 57 | 19 | 1 | 88 |
| CHINACOTA | 22 | 17 | 163 | 116 | 1 | 319 |
| CHITAGA | 51 | 5 | 300 | 138 | 494 | |
| CONVENCION | 134 | 55 | 858 | 328 | 9 | 1384 |
| CUCUTA | 368 | 285 | 1209 | 675 | 24 | 2561 |
| CUCUTILLA | 30 | 19 | 239 | 67 | 2 | 357 |
| DURANIA | 17 | 11 | 155 | 76 | 259 | |
| EL CARMEN | 196 | 59 | 914 | 225 | 10 | 1404 |
| EL TARRA | 152 | 87 | 969 | 272 | 18 | 1498 |
| EL ZULIA | 67 | 70 | 527 | 281 | 8 | 953 |
| GRAMALOTE | 12 | 13 | 182 | 43 | 250 | |
| HACARI | 136 | 33 | 860 | 237 | 7 | 1273 |
| HERRAN | 4 | 95 | 24 | 123 | ||
| LA ESPERANZA | 83 | 66 | 587 | 219 | 7 | 962 |
| LA PLAYA | 64 | 8 | 636 | 127 | 4 | 839 |
| LABATECA | 31 | 182 | 42 | 255 | ||
| LOS PATIOS | 60 | 50 | 317 | 213 | 2 | 642 |
| LOURDES | 5 | 165 | 40 | 210 | ||
| MUTISCUA | 6 | 61 | 5 | 72 | ||
| OCAÑA | 227 | 91 | 926 | 429 | 23 | 1696 |
| PAMPLONA | 31 | 22 | 252 | 157 | 462 | |
| PAMPLONITA | 1 | 3 | 60 | 17 | 81 | |
| PUERTO SANTANDER | 74 | 57 | 365 | 145 | 7 | 648 |
| RAGONVALIA | 16 | 3 | 138 | 54 | 211 | |
| SALAZAR | 28 | 10 | 311 | 108 | 8 | 465 |
| SAN CALIXTO | 139 | 40 | 928 | 238 | 29 | 1374 |
| SAN CAYETANO | 3 | 5 | 126 | 76 | 210 | |
| SANTIAGO | 15 | 3 | 122 | 76 | 216 | |
| SARDINATA | 123 | 90 | 873 | 280 | 9 | 1375 |
| SILOS | 5 | 103 | 62 | 170 | ||
| TEORAMA | 126 | 61 | 830 | 285 | 12 | 1314 |
| TIBU | 265 | 264 | 1392 | 502 | 24 | 2447 |
| TOLEDO | 118 | 38 | 359 | 190 | 705 | |
| VILLA CARO | 6 | 7 | 123 | 47 | 1 | 184 |
| VILLA DEL ROSARIO | 103 | 74 | 372 | 249 | 5 | 803 |
| TOTAL | 3014 | 1641 | 17951 | 6726 | 243 | 29575 |
FUENTE: Unidad para las Víctimas, Registro Único de Víctimas. Red Nacional de Información, 2018. https://www.unidadvictimas.gov.co/es/registro-unico-de-victimas-ruv/37394
Hunger
In 2018, Alfred de Zayas, independent expert of the UN Human Rights Commission visited Venezuela, this visit had been guided by resolution 36/4 of the Human Rights Council with the aim of assessing the situation of alleged humanitarian crisis. In his report the expert concluded:
“Venezuela has not yet reached the threshold of humanitarian crisis, there is hunger, malnutrition, concern, anguish and emigration. It is essential to study the causes of the crisis, including the factors that have not been taken into account, namely sanctions, sabotage, hoarding, black market activities, induced inflation and the smuggling102 of food and medicines. [2]
The “crisis” in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is an economic crisis, which cannot be compared with the humanitarian crises in Gaza103, Yemen104, Libya105, the Syrian Arab Republic106, Iraq107, Haiti108, Mali109, the Central African Republic110, Southern Sudan111, Somalia,112 or Myanmar113, among others.” The “crisis” in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is an economic crisis, which cannot be compared with the humanitarian crises in Gaza103, Yemen104, Libya105, the Syrian Arab Republic106, Iraq107, Haiti108, Mali109, the Central African Republic110, Southern Sudan111, Somalia,112 or Myanmar113, among others. [3]
According to the FAO, there are 3.7 million undernourished people, but this data is used politically to attack Venezuelan sovereignty, while it is interestingly concealed that Colombia, despite having a high GDP growth in recent years and not having a blockade condition on its economy, saw malnutrition increase at alarming levels, as we can see in figure 1.
Chart Number 1.
SOURCE: elaboration with data from FAO: http://www.fao.org/faostat/es/#country/236
Between 2009 and 2012, Colombia had more than 5 million undernourished people, all as a result of a liberal policy of austerity in spending and abandonment of its social policies. For its part, Venezuela drastically reduced the level of undernourishment during these same periods, being rewarded repeatedly in 2013 and 2014 by the FAO, then the aggression and blockade negatively impact the progress achieved. Today in Venezuela there are 3.7 million undernourished people, in Colombia 3.2 million, but political manipulation reduces the drama of hunger in Colombia. A highly publicized effect of the drama of hunger in Colombia is the death of children. In 2016, the Colombian attorney general’s office denounced that 4,770 children had died of hunger in the last 8 years.[4] In the last year 2018, according to figures from the National Health Institute[5], the number of children killed by malnutrition continues to increase.
Particularly Norte de Santander, the department where “international aid” for Venezuela will arrive, is a department with a serious food security situation. Figures from the Cúcuta cómo vamos program, which measures citizens’ quality of life, indicate that 14.64% of children aged 0 to 5 (early childhood) living in the city suffer from chronic malnutrition.[6] In the department as a whole, this picture is aggravated if we start by assessing that more than 50% of the department’s population lives in poverty.[7]
According to the United Nations System for Monitoring Territories Affected by Coca, the Catatumbo sub-region located in Norte de Santander is one of the territories most affected by coca cultivation and cocaine production, in map number 1 we can see the extent of this crop.
SOURCE: Monitoring of territories affected by illicit crops 2017. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Published September 2018. https://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Colombia/Colombia_Monitoreo_territorios_afectados_cultivos_ilicitos_2017_Resumen.pdf
The coca areas planted per year in Catatumbo can be seen in table 3.
TABLA NÚMERO 3. HECTÁREAS SEMBRADAS CON COCA EN LA SUBREGIÓN DE CATATUMBO NORTE DE SANTANDER.
| Sub región Catatumbo | |
| 2008 | 2886 |
| 2009 | 3037 |
| 2010 | 1889 |
| 2011 | 3490 |
| 2012 | 4529 |
| 2013 | 6358 |
| 2014 | 6954 |
| 2015 | 11560 |
| 2016 | 24587 |
| 2017 | 28268 |
FUENTE: Monitoreo de territorios afectados por cultivos ilícitos 2017. Oficina de las Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y el Delito. Publicado septiembre de 2018. https://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Colombia/Colombia_Monitoreo_territorios_afectados_cultivos_ilicitos_2017_Resumen.pdf
Since 2015, production per hectare has increased exponentially, due to a national trend, with 160,000 hectares of coca planted throughout the country by 2017.
It is an opprobrium for the population of Norte de Santander to see the volumes of supplies that arrive without their tragedy being made visible, Colombia observes dirt in the eyes of others, why not look at themselves?
[1] See: 1. The furnaces of infamy:
2. Libro Me hablarás del fuego del periodista Javier Osuna: https://www.semana.com/cultura/articulo/javier-osuna-habla-sobre-su-libro-me-hablaras-del-fuego/448267-3
3. Sentencia en tribunales de Justicia y Paz contra Jorge Ivan Laverde Zapata, Alias “El Iguano”, filed: 110016000253200680281 at: https://minsalud.gov.co/Normatividad_Nuevo/Sentencia%20El%20Iguano-%20Primera%20Instancia%202010.pdf
2] Human Rights Council. Thirty-ninth session.
10-28 September 2018 Report of the independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order on his mission to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Ecuador. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/G1823934.pdf
3] Human Rights Council. Thirty-ninth session.
10-28 September 2018 Report of the independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order on his mission to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Ecuador. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/G1823934.pdf
[4] https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/colombia-4770-ninos-muertos-por-hambre-en-ocho-anos/460784
[6] https://www.laopinion.com.co/cucuta/aumento-la-desnutricion-infantil-en-cucuta-107151#OP
Translation by Internationalist 360°
