Pubdate: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2001 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Author: Juan Forero COLOMBIA PARAMILITARY GROUP SEIZES 30 VILLAGERS, PRESUMED DEAD BOGOTA, Colombia, March 30 - A right-wing paramilitary group that terrorizes villagers began what might be its most audacious assault of the year by marching into a small southern town on Saturday and seizing 30 people, the governor of Narino Province said today. The villagers, who were accused of collaborating with leftist guerrillas, are generally believed to be dead. Gov. Parmenio Cuellar told a group of reporters here today that the gunmen arrived in Llorente, a town that had seen little violence until the coca trade took hold in recent months. Mr. Cuellar also said security forces did not arrive until Thursday, five days after the 200 to 300 raiders had come and gone. The raid was seen by Mr. Cuellar and human rights officials in Bogota as a byproduct of the extensive American-backed fumigation of coca fields in neighboring Putumayo Province. Officials in Narino have said the aerial spraying, which began in December, had displaced coca growers, as well as leftist rebels and paramilitary gunmen, sending them to the once quiet region around Llorente. "We've been saying for eight months that Narino was at the epicenter of the growing conflict and that Narino and other regions near Putumayo were in danger of paramilitary or guerrilla incursions," said Jorge Rojas, director of Codhes, a leading human rights group here. "Nevertheless, no one acted." Details about what occurred in Llorente remained sketchy. A spokesman for the military, Col. Paulino Coronado, confirmed that 30 people had been taken away by members of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, including about 25 men. If all 30 are killed, the raid will be the most violent of dozens of paramilitary massacres this year. In January, paramilitary forces entered a northern town, Chengue, and killed at least 25 people. Colonel Coronado confirmed that the military did not respond until Thursday. He said the units "could not arrive because they were covering other areas." The raiders arrived between 4 and 5 a.m. on March 24, rousing people out of bed and herding residents into a small shabby plaza. A man who was in Llorente when the gunmen arrived said in a telephone interview today that he was among the residents led into the plaza at gunpoint. The raiders remained for six or seven hours, questioning residents and going through houses, the man said. He added that the gunmen had also forced a handful of residents to single out those who had collaborated with the rebels. "They took them away," the man said. "They put a knife and a gun to them and told them to move on. It was terrible. This had never happened to us." Llorente, in a lowland jungle area not far from the Pacific, has gone from an isolated dirt-poor community to a boomtown in a few months with the influx of former coca farmers from Putumayo, coca laboratory workers and others drawn by a robust economy flush with coca money. There is no permanent presence of the police or military. The closest unit is a Marine battalion in Tumaco, a 30-minute trip from the seaside. An army battalion is farther away, in Ipiales in the mountains. Colonel Coronado said military officials remained unclear over who had jurisdiction in Llorente, the Marines or the army. Mr. Rojas said the failure to protect the town or arrive more rapidly underscored the contentions in a recent United Nations report that harshly criticized human rights problems in Colombia. The report, by the high commissioner for human rights, said warnings about paramilitary attacks against defenseless villagers often went unheeded. Human rights groups say the paramilitary groups are responsible for most of the massacres in Colombia. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D