Armed groups in Colombia adopted new levels of control, during the outbreak of the new coronavirus, by imposing strict closures, with severe penalties for violators. In the coastal city of Tumaco, a drug-trafficking center in southwestern Colombia, gangsters distributed leaflets, announcing all violators of the curfew as "military targets." In a warning to everyone, an ambulance, which responded to a call after the curfew began in early May, came under fire, and its driver and the patient on board were killed.

Lorena Paredes, a 28-year-old lawyer, recounts how armed men hit her with three bullets in her leg, when she was returning home late at night, and she did not get help, because no one would dare it, during the ban. Drug gangs are using the epidemic to strengthen control of parts of the country, which has experienced decades of armed conflict. The increasingly violent competition shows the power of the epidemic to deepen societal challenges that already exist and to loosen the grip of the government in this fragile country.

"This is not a health problem for these groups," said Jimina Sanchez Garzoli, director of the Washington Office for Latin American Affairs. "It is related to exercising social control over the population."

Brutal measures

While the government of President Evan Duque focuses on exacerbating the outbreak of the Corona virus, the brutal measures imposed by armed groups serve at least two purposes, to expand control of roads and communities to engage in drug trafficking and illegal mining, and to strengthen the position of their leaders as absolute rulers of their lands.

The conditions there reflect a global trend of armed groups moving to replace weak governments, during the epidemic. The Taliban in Afghanistan, the Vermelho commandos in Rio de Janeiro, and the MS13 in El Salvador have imposed, among other things, their own curfews, and in some cases, they have distributed food, masks, and disinfectants in the areas they control .

But the Colombian groups distinguished themselves by the level of violence, which they worked to implement. Observers fear they are speeding up the dangerous drift, away from the 2016 peace agreement, which ended the 52-year-old conflict between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Critics blame President Duque, who opposed the peace deal before he became president, in 2018, for his sluggish pace in land distribution system reform and stalled efforts to reintegrate Revolutionary Armed Forces fighters into society. They say his conservative administration has not done enough to stop the killing of leftist group leaders and former rebels.

Grip enhancement

Now, the rebels who once again took up arms, or who have never laid down arms, are among the groups that have strengthened their grip on hotspots that have not completely subsided. Human Rights Watch reported this month that armed groups imposed closures of the Corona virus in 11 states, in Colombia, out of 32, have resulted in the deaths of at least eight people and 10 injuries since the outbreak began.

"I think they are very concerned," said researcher at the human rights organization, Juan Papier. "They know that the cities in which they work do not have health facilities, and there are not many doctors, and they see these closings as helping to give them some sense of legitimacy." .

The penalty for violating the rules of the embargo can amount to death. In the troubled western state of Cauca, Human Rights Watch has documented six killings by armed groups to enforce coronavirus restrictions. It included shooting at a local farmer, because he violated the rules of closure, by meeting friends in a neighboring town. Another group targeted four Venezuelan migrants, for drinking alcohol in public places.

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In Tumaco, defectors from the FARC forces forced a local family to leave their home, because one of its members tested positive for the Corona virus. Now residents are afraid to take tests, and they say they should ask for permission even for basic activities, such as grocery shopping. "They have practically controlled the use of the coronavirus," said Leticia, who declined to give her last name, fearing reprisals. A security official investigating the shooting incident of the lawyer, Lorena Paredes, said that the armed groups were able to consolidate their grip, because the police and regular soldiers withdrew during the outbreak of the disease. These groups, despite the gravity of this, filled the void created by the absent state.

While the government of President Evan Duque focuses on exacerbating the outbreak of the Coruna virus, the brutal measures imposed by armed groups serve the goal of controlling the roads and local communities to engage in drug trafficking.

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