President Jose Manuel Santos criticized Farc attacks and drained tankers in Putumayo, which provoked one of the largest public rejections of the guerrilla this year. Santos said these acts do not make sense and the guerrilla never will win the respect of the Colombians.
The flare in violence following the end of the Farc’s supposed unilateral cease fire has put pipelines and oil infrastructure back in the crosshairs of guerrilla groups. It could not come at a worse time for Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) which will see its costs rise and production fall as a result.
A series of attacks and drained tankers in Putumayo from the Farc has evoked widespread outcry from authorities, as the local community and ecosystem deals with yet again with a long lasting environmental impact.
The Armed Forces stepped up their activities as the guerrilla maintained the pressure. Incidents were up by nearly one-third to 38 and guerrilla-initiated incidents were about equal to last week so the increase was due to their opponents.
In Meta a meeting between USO and Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) executives brought a 15 day protest to a halt, while the union gears up for talks with Mansarovar Energy and supports a strike in Tibú.
Unfortunately, this week we saw the expected reaction to the end of the Farc’s unilateral truce. Incidents were up to 28 but guerrilla-initiated incidents more than doubled and there was a return to direct infrastructure attacks.
Since the ceasefire has been lifted some 18 acts of violence have been registered, accounting for 85% of the attacks made over the last five months, as the future of the talks remain in question.
Norway and Cuba are calling for the government and the Farc to try and preserve Havana peace negotiations after 40 guerrillas were killed in three military attacks in Cauca, Antioquia and Chocó, leading the guerrilla to call off its unilateral cease fire.
The Farc called off their unilateral truce and the total incident count was up to 25, but this was due to increased Armed Forces activity. The guerrilla were quieter than average.
Community conflict and blockades have been a recurring problem over the last two years, but in 2015 the number of blockades has spiked considerably.
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