483: The Canal del Dique, Silent Witness to the Colombian Conflict

Ricardo Cubides is the regional coordinator for the Colombian Caribbean region for the NGO CODHES - La Consultoría para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento and it is an incredible honour to talk with him and tap into his knowledge of the sociopolitical issues here. On this Episode of the Colombia Calling podcast - permitted only due to the fact that the conversation is in English - we deal with incredibly sensitive information about the chronology of armed groups in the region of the Canal del Dique, the structural racism and the on-going conflict in the region. The Canal del Dique is a feat of engineering, built by slaves from Africa, commanded by the Spanish empire, running for 115km in length and connecting the lakes and waterways of the Magdalena river basin with the city and port of Cartagena. Latterly, the area has been controlled by the EPL guerrillas, then the ELN and then the FARC before coming under the control of the AUC paramilitaries and now the AGC or Clan del Golfo. We discuss the situation now and in particular alongside the ambitious Paz Total or Total Peace project promoted by the current government of President Gustavo Petro. The Colombia News Brief is reported by journalist Emily Hart. Support us at www.patreon.com/colombiacalling