In the midst of armed violence, the authorities persecute and evict fishing communities and barequeras from the municipalities of Ituango and Briceño Antioquia affected by Hidroituango
At this moment the community of barequeros and fishermen located downstream of the Hidroituango wall are being attacked by the Police and cornered by the National Army. Two SWAT vehicle entered the area very early, have destroyed around 12 homes in the jurisdiction of Briceño, Capitán sector, although they did not notify the authorities of the mayor of this municipality. With the same machinery that destroy the mountains and the river, they are destroying homes.
Many families are hiding in the mountains fleeing the attack, the Army shot some of the fleeing families, stun grenades are heard and tear gas is observed. Apparently, these grenades generated a fire, fire is seen in the area, we do not know what generated it but it puts the population and the ecosystem at risk. With tear gas and fire, the few animals that remain after the Hidroituango disaster are also fleeing.
In Ituango they arrived at the beaches of Tesalia to evict the population, the first house was that of Juliana Sucerquia Ortiz, 17 years old, who was with her elderly mother two police officers told her that she had to leave, without mediating a word they beat her down, mistreating her and making her feel asphyxiated by the pressure they exerted with their hands against her body, they forcibly removed her from the area, left her in pain and without allowing her to take out the family assets, she was taken to the health center of the work Hidroituango. All this happened in front of Irene Legarda’s personera (public official similar to ombudswoman) from Ituango, who did nothing about it to defend the rights of the minor, clearly, this Public Ministry official is not to protect the rights of citizens but at the service of the EPM company (Empresas Públicas de Medellín) to defend their interests and be against the community.
Since yesterday, Sunday March 14, 2021, the ESMAD (Mobile Anti-Riot Squad) arrived at the EPM camps, which provide them with accommodation, food, and all the comforts. The communities and social leaders made calls to all the authorities without receiving a response that clarifies what was happening. At no time did the community receive any notification from the judicial authority about the eviction, the date of the eviction was not known, nor was there a resettlement plan in clear violation of due process.
All of the above occurs amid the terror sown by criminal actors in the area, groups outside the law have threatened and displaced the rural population, yesterday (Sunday March 14, 2021) several families from Santa Ana were displaced and a little more than 500 people were in the Ituango urban area displaced and had to return to the sidewalks without any kind of guarantee from the authorities. In the early morning of today, a public transport bus was incinerated on the road that leads from the work to Ituango a few minutes from the municipal seat. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the authorities are dedicated to persecuting the humble communities that seek their livelihood in the river and not the criminals who attack, extort, displace, intimidate and commit crimes against the population.
The community of fishermen and barequeros risks their lives in this area because EPM has refused to repair and compensate for the loss of livelihoods and subsistence of this population and they have no other way to survive.