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In the 1990s the traditional situation of communities living in peace and in an active relationship with their natural environment was dramatically and tragically disrupted by the arrival of the three armed groups—the FARC and ELN guerrillas, the right-wing paramilitaries, and the government army and police. Since then, the people of Chocó have suffered the consequences of war among those groups: many deaths, displacement of thousands of people, control of the river by the armed groups, and disruption of social, cultural and economic life. The people here generally identify with none of the armed groups, but see themselves caught in the crossfire. Their demand on all three groups is to be left in peace, to be allowed to resume their former lives, and to receive support for community-designed and -controlled development projects and social services.

In reality, guerrilla forces had been present in the territory for some time, but their presence was not very disruptive to normal social and economic life. Tourists from Medellín and other areas of Colombia who came to Chocó to vacation bathing in the famous crystalline streams and rivers would report seeing guerrilla fighters, but there were few incidents.

But in 1996 that all changed as the paramilitaries, organized originally to defend the interests of the land-owning class, entered Chocó. Although the “paras” are an illegal force, and by this time had become involved with narco-trafficking, the armed forces seem to have a cozy relationship with them in general, and a very obvious collaboration with them in Chocó.

The goals of the “paras” were quite clear from the beginning: to clear the people out of the department to make way for agricultural and infrastructure “mega-projects,” and to secure the area because of its military and economic strategic importance. Despite the loss of any strong connection to the population on the part of the guerrilla forces, it’s clear that objectively the guerrilla resistance to the paramilitaries and the armed forces have prevented them from displacing the entire population and destroying the forest and river environments to this point.

The consequences of the violence among what the population identifies as “the three armed groups”—the military, the guerillas and the paramilitaries—have been very serious for the people of the area. Many people have been killed, kidnapped or seriously injured. Many more have been forced to flee their homes; sometimes as a result of direct threats to their lives, sometimes because the violence left them no other choice.

The main rivers, which people depend on for transport, commerce, social intercourse and fishing, have been

partially, and in some areas totally, closed to the people, or have become areas of high peril. The people in the villages point out that not only have they faced death, injury and displacement, but that their economic lives and the social fabric of their community have been severely damaged by the ongoing violence.

The situation of Chocó was brought to national and international attention by the worst single incident, a massacre in the town of Bellavista, in May, 2002, an explosive device launched by the FARC at a group of paramilitaries accidentally fell into the church, where many civilians had sought refuge, killing 119 and wounding scores more.

In 2005, there has been a substantial increase in the numbers of “paras” and armed forces personnel, especially in the Middle and Lower Atrato River areas. Whether because they are afraid of renewed fighting near and in their villages, or because of direct threats, many people have abandoned their villages and are living as displaced people in some of the larger centers. The military claims that they were called into the area by the communal organizations of the population; the organizations roundly deny that they did so.