Attacks by the ELN guerrilla on the Coveñas/Caño Limon pipeline have rendered US$20B in damage to the oil infrastructure and another US$20B in environmental damage in the last 28 years, according to data released by Colombia’s Attorney General’s office.
The Centro Democratico party of Senator Alvaro Uribe kicked off a “firmaton”, a campaign to collect signatures and a call for civil resistance, just as the peace talks and the legal instrument which will be used to approve a final agreement reaches a critical moment.
Despite assurances from leaders of the UTEN oil workers union, which affiliated Pacific E&P workers in the Rubiales field, Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) has confirmed it will not use the UTEN workers, it will hire a completely new workforce, in a victory for the more militant USO union.
Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) has signed an agreement with communities which affected its production in Chichimene, in the Acacías and Castilla la Nueva Municipalities, but reports show a willful criminal activity behind the protests, which could flare up again.
The ELN guerrilla group released three journalists, first Spanish citizen Salud Hernandez and then two RCN Noticias reporters, as the group continues to defy the government, complicating the potential start of peace talks.
May finished with a call by the ELN for a bilateral ceasefire, something that has not been achieved with the Farc even after years of negotiations. The government has not reacted but we doubt there would be much public support.
A dispute with a corporation of community action committees (JACs) in Acacías has led to blockades, threats against workers and even fuel filled bottles being thrown at Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) drilling equipment which is destined for the Chichimene field.
After a total of 50 rounds of talks, the government and Farc have announced they will start a permanent session on Monday until a final agreement and cease fire is reached.
The government and Farc announced an agreement to end the use of minors among the guerrilla ranks and clear its camps as well, the latest small step forward in an uncertain process.
The 49th round of talks ended last week without any major advances, but former El Salvadorian guerrilla Joaquín Villalobos, an advisor to the process in Colombia, assured that the end is the most difficult part, but that an agreement is near. Meanwhile the ELN process gets complicated.
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