Chocó at Epicenter of Colombia’s Social, Environmental Conflicts

Jan 12, 2018 | Maximo Anderson
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One wet November morning deep within Colombia’s western rainforest of Chocó, rebel fighters of the National Liberation Army (ELN) scattered across a muddy football pitch in groups of eight to practice their daily drills. The rebels drilled with sticks instead of guns to avoid getting them jammed with mud, and they wore slacks instead of uniforms. From a distance, it looked like a game of baseball, but the reality is that the fighters were training because war could be just around the corner – again. A leading member of the Che Guevara fighting front who goes by the alias “Yerson” sat close by as his comrades finished the morning drill and blamed Colombia’s elite for the ongoing conflict. He wore military fatigues and a beret decorated with a red image of Che Guevara. “People see us guerrillas as antiquated,” he said. “But capitalism is older and we’ll keep fighting injustice if we have to.”