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Trouble in paradise: Colombia tourist jewel plagued by violence
The ACSN and Gulf Clan are extorting hotels and Indigenous sellers, and officials say more than 46,000 extortion complaints have been filed since 2022.
- The Self-Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada maintain tight control over Colombia's Santa Marta tourism region, terrorizing Indigenous communities and holding local businesses for ransom.
- President Gustavo Petro's 'Paz Total' campaign failed to neutralize the ACSN, which still rules the region four years after the initiative began.
- Dubbed 'Conquistadores,' ACSN members use extortion as primary revenue, with the Ministry of Defense reporting more than 46,000 complaints of extortion since 2022.
- In February, the government closed Tayrona National Park for more than two weeks following threats against park rangers; Atanasio Moscote, governor of the Kogui Indigenous people, stated, 'We are afraid and anxious about the future.'
- Colombia's biggest drug cartel, the Gulf Clan, has triggered recent clashes with the ACSN while extortion remains a key theme in the campaign to elect a successor to Petro in elections starting May 31.
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28 Articles
28 Articles
Traders and indigenous communities are subject to the will of a paramilitary group.
·Montreal, Canada
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources28
Leaning Left3Leaning Right1Center13Last UpdatedBias Distribution76% Center
Bias Distribution
- 76% of the sources are Center
76% Center
L 18%
C 76%
Factuality
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