Last Updated on March 24, 2026
Indigenous leaders, human rights advocates and humanitarian organizations are calling for urgent government intervention in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where escalating armed conflict has left hundreds of Indigenous families trapped, displaced and in worsening humanitarian conditions.
Clashes between illegal armed groups in rural areas of Aracataca and neighboring municipalities have intensified over the past two weeks, confining entire communities and restricting access to food, healthcare and safe movement.
According to regional human rights monitors, fighting between the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN), and the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia — also known as the Clan del Golfo — has killed at least three people, including two minors, and injured about 15 others. More than 400 Indigenous and peasant families have been displaced, while over 2,000 Indigenous people remain confined in their territories.
The Platform of Human Rights, Environmental and Leadership Defenders of the Sierra Nevada (PDHAL) warned that the situation reflects serious violations of both human rights and international humanitarian law, particularly affecting Indigenous communities in Serankwa.
Weapons such as drones and improvised explosive devices have been used during the conflict.
Lelber Dimás Vásquez, a human rights defender affiliated with PDHAL, described the crisis as “quite delicate,” citing prolonged fighting, civilian injuries and the growing inability of families to move freely or access basic necessities.
Humanitarian organizations say the violence has effectively sealed off remote mountain communities, where residents remain trapped by fear and ongoing gunfire. In many areas, families have been unable to leave their homes for days, deepening food shortages and limiting access to medical care.
Responding to the attacks, the Indigenous-led organization Cultural Survival urged the state to take action, commenting, “The State must… establish contingency plans, provide comprehensive humanitarian aid, and ensure an effective institutional presence to prevent further acts of violence.”
Local authorities and Indigenous leaders have echoed those demands, urging the rapid delivery of aid to Arhuaco communities in the Sierra Nevada.
Human rights groups also criticized what they describe as a persistent absence of the state, pointing to an early warning issued by Colombia’s ombudsman as well as a United Nations communiqué cautioning about the potential physical and cultural extinction of Indigenous peoples in the Sierra Nevada if protections are not enforced.
The Sierra Nevada holds deep cultural and spiritual significance for Indigenous communities in the region, who regard it as the “Heart of the World.”
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