A veneer of calm has settled over Narino, one of the most violent regions of Colombia, where armed groups until recently waged bloody battles for control of vast coca fields.
The guerrilla group Segunda Marquetalia has taken control of the southwestern region -- roughly the size of Belgium -- using financial backing from Mexican cartels to unify myriad armed outfits, analysts say.
The guerrilla group Segunda Marquetalia has taken control of the southwestern region -- roughly the size of Belgium -- using financial backing from Mexican cartels to unify myriad armed outfits, analysts say.
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NewsTranscript
00:00We are in the neighborhood of Bajito, a neighborhood that some time ago could not even enter, but
00:29now it is a neighborhood of peace, a neighborhood that is committed to total peace.
00:49What they are interested in is local control to facilitate illegal economic activity.
00:54What that means is that there has been a strategic shift in how they control territory.
00:59Rather than fighting the military or looking for clashes with the police, they want to
01:03control the population, which means installing curfews, pressuring local social leaders and
01:10local elected authorities, setting rules about what you can and cannot do.
01:24People here are often afraid to talk about this, but it is obvious.
01:35Something very difficult was experienced.
01:38Every day in Tumaco, nine or ten people were killed.
01:43We don't want to live through war anymore.
01:45We don't want to see more of war.
01:55I used to feel scared because I couldn't go to another bar.
01:59Now I feel safer.
02:01When I go out with my friends and they want to cause trouble, I tell them no.
02:07That's wrong.
02:09You know what I mean.
02:12Before the help of the state came, there was the help of the guerrillas.
02:18That is to say, this neighborhood has had a total abandonment.
02:22Not just this neighborhood.
02:24This whole coast has been totally abandoned by the state.
02:41In some way, the people, the communities, should be represented.
02:57And that they can really make the transition from illicit economies to legal economies.
03:08But with real facts.
03:10With the construction of roads, electric networks.
03:31People use the territory to plant coca, which is much easier.
03:37They can transport 5 or 10 kilos of coca to any backpack.
03:44And they start to plant and carry yucca or banana.
03:49That is impossible for the peasants.
04:07See you later.