In 2006, the displaced communities from the Curbaradó River Basin began to return under the leadership of Enrique Petro, a small-scale farmer from the region. Petro donated five hectares of his private property to establish the first Humanitarian Zone in Curbaradó. Petro has received many threats over the last years. Photo: Charlotte Kesl
According to information from the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission, the leaders demanding the return of their land have received threats on an ongoing basis over the last several years. For instance, Enrique Petro Hernández has received many telephone threats over the last years from alleged members of the illegal group "Black Eagles". María Ligia Chaverra, former legal representative of the Curbaradó High Council and leader in the process to return to the region, was the target of am assassination plan in 20081. Both of these individuals have been granted provisional measures from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.2
National and international organisations have intervened on many occasions for the safety of the ancestral inhabitants of the region. However, few results have been achieved and the threats against their lives have not decreased, despite all of the measures that have been decreed. In this respect, in May 2010, the Constitutional Court ordered the Ministry of Interior and Justice to design and put implement an individual and collective prevention and protection plan for the population and communities in the Curbaradó and Jiguamiandó River Basins that take into account the recently deteriorated security situation and the vulnerability of the communitie