Peace Timeline: 2002

U.S. Military and Police Aid - Focus on Arauca and Putumayo:Timeline of Current Events Arauca:
July 2003

July 25, 2003

The municipality of Saravena was militarized after five people were killed. Sources in the mayor's office believe the paramilitaries are to blame for the incident, while the police have no clues. [El Tiempo]

July 23, 2003

The Army detonated a truck bomb in the municipality of Tame. The truck was found on a downtown street, then taken to a desolate area and blown up. It was not clear who is responsible for the attempted attack. [El Tiempo]

July 22, 2003

Government reports assert that almost a year into the Uribe administration, the "Democratic Security" strategy has meet two of its goals: it has recoveredg territories that for decades have been considered guerrilla and paramilitary strongholds, and has limited the illegal armed groups' power.

According to Arauca Mayor Jorge Apolinar Cedeño, homicides in the municipality have dropped from 147 between January and June 2002 to 66 during the same time period in 2003. [El País, Cali]

July 20, 2003

A car bomb exploded in Saravena. This is the second vehicle in four days to blow up in Arauca. The Department's police commander Colonel Alcídes Morales believes that the vehicle was to be set off when police and military forces made there way through the area, however it exploded early, leaving no victims or injuries. [El Colombiano, Medellín]

July 17, 2003

Suspected rebels blew up two electrical towers, leaving the region's capital without power.

President Uribe at "town hall" meeting in Arauca.

A grenade attack in Saravena leeft one dead and seven injured. The attack took place when President Uribe was participating in a town council meeting in the departmental capital of Arauca. During the "town hall" meeting President Uribe ordered the police to begin fumigations in Arauca. He also signed an agreement that would allow for the release of approximately $20,000 in local government oil royalties (which had been frozen earlier in the year to prevent them ending up in the hands of the guerrillas) for the completion of an Arauca-Casanare highway. [El Tiempo]

July 14, 2003

President Uribe and Minister of Defense Ramirez in Arauca.

In an attempt to demonstrate government control throughout the country, President Alvaro Uribe governed from a military base in Arauca. While there Uribe spent time at the Caño Limón pipeline complex and held meetings at the 18th Brigade's headquarters, including a "security council" with local leaders and a town-hall meeting and addressed Arauca's most pressing social needs. [Reuters]

In an interview the Governor of Arauca, Óscar Garrid Muñoz, asserted that being part of the rehabilitation zone "has lead to a marked decrease in the number of terrorist acts: last year there were 127 attacks on the pipeline, and this year there have only been 5 or 6."
He also highlighted that the number of military personnel in Arauca has increased, with a presence in many areas that did not have one. "We don't have problems in the security area-- where we have a problem in the social area, we need more of a presence in this area. … Arauca lives in constant conflict. People live in fear; for this reason agriculture and cattle ranching have nearly disappeared. The unemployment index is high because the only employers in the area are the oil companies and the Governor's office." [Colprensa, El Colombiano, Medellín]

July 11, 2003

· The inspector-general of Arauca's departmental government, Luis Alejandro Plazas, was shot and killed when leaving his office. Over the last 15 years Plazas has held several public positions in Arauca. The police commander, colonel Luis Alcídes Morales, cautions that the attack could have been politically motivated. "Elections will be held soon and it seems like some people don't want them to take place."

The Human Rights Ombudsman's office condemmed the assassination and demanded that armed actors respect the lives of all civil servants.

July 8, 2003

Photo: Marc Becker

Arauca was left without electricity after two electrical towers were bombed by the FARC. This is the fifth attack on the energy infrastructure this year. [El Tiempo]