Not only have to think about eradicating coca crops, but also the causes that led to the catatumbo to marginalization, said the bishop of Ocaña (Colombia), Mons. Orlando Olave Villanoba, during his participation in an event attended by the President Gustavo Petro.
Yesterday, the municipality of Ocaña, in the department of Norte de Santander, hosted an extended Council of Ministers to address the humanitarian crisis in the Catatumbo following the clashes between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and Front 33 of FARC dissidents.
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The fighting for the control of the territory that limits with Venezuela, and in which it is estimated that there are 54,000 hectares of coca crops, has caused the displacement of some 48,000 people and the confinement of another 25,000.
At the time of his speechMons. Olave Villanoba said that after traveling for four months the different parishes of his diocese, he is convinced that “this is a territory of life”, however, structural problems are still suffered that have led a good part of the population to live in poverty and marginalization.
According to a Government report of June 2024, 41.5% of the inhabitants live in multidimensional poverty.
In that sense, the prelate said that it is necessary to face problems through structural actions. “Before thinking of just eradicating coca, you have to eradicate the causes” that pushed the peasants to reach marginalization and poverty, he said.
Mons. Olave said that, although this takes time, “it is good to start” with the necessary projects and for this it is also important to have the joint participation of local and national governments.
After ensuring that “the Catholic Church is willing to accompany this process,” the Ocaña bishop said the projects must have the person in the center.
He also asked Petro that “he does not get tired of working for peace,” but recalled that “a reality that is also a cancer for the territory, which is corruption.”
Eduardo Berdejo
Professional in Social Communication of the National University of San Marcos in Peru, I have more than 20 years of experience in Catholic digital journalism. As part of ACI Press, I have been sent to cover the trips of Pope Francis to Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Peru, in addition to the Synod of Sinodality in the Vatican in 2023.