Barrancabermeja, June 23, 2001

It is several months now since the right-wing paramilitary forces of the AUC ousted the left-wing guerrillas (the FARC and the ELN). Back in February and March when the final battles were being waged in the barrios, the people of Barrancabermeja awaited a bloodbath. Although their worst fears haven't been realized, undercurrents of uncertainty and fear prevail.

Numerous people tell me that one of the problems is that many of the paramilitaries are guerrillas who switched sides. "That means they know exactly who supported the guerrillas before," one public functionary tells me. "The town is holding its breath."

Tension is worst on the very poor south side of the city, home to more than half the city’s population. Civilian authority has been completely absent for almost a decade. When the guerrillas took control, the inhabitants had little choice but to adapt. So now, many are under suspicion by the paramilitaries. To make matters worse, control of the region's illegal markets and activities has shifted.

In the city’s southern barrios and surrounding countryside, rampant unemployment combines with the lack of government presence. So siphoning Occidental Petroleum's pipelines--for illegal sales and use in cocaine processing--is one of the region's most attractive organized criminal pursuits.

The "gas cartel," once controlled by guerrillas and small criminal organizations, is coveted war booty as a non-depreciable source of wealth. Whether the paramilitary takeover means that the AUC have total control of the cartel is an open question. What is certain is that the cartel rules have changed.

A citizen who must remain anonymous tells me that when the guerrillas controlled the gas cartel, they respected his father's right to prevent the illegal siphoning of Occidental pipelines under his land. But several weeks ago, the man's father disappeared.

The family now believes that he was killed by the gas cartel. "Since that time we have not seen or heard news of him," the man tells me. "I've received a message that I should sell the cattle and abandon the farm."

Although the town’s murder rate has not changed dramatically since the paramilitary take-over, people are being victimized in other ways. Forced displacement and psychological intimidation are traumatizing those least able to defend themselves. Independent community organizations—a lifeline to the poor--are also under threat.