"Armed groups are holding local businesses to ransom and terrorising Indigenous communities. The Self-Defence Forces of the Sierra Nevada (ACSN) control cocaine trafficking routes and engage in illegal gold mining."
"Extortion has become another lucrative business for the group. The Conquistadores demand a cut of the earnings of hotels, tour bus companies, and Indigenous communities."
"We are afraid and anxious about the future, said Atanasio Moscote, the governor of the Kogui Indigenous people, who live high up in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park."
"In February, the government closed Tayrona National Park for more than two weeks following threats against park rangers, allegedly issued by the ACSN."
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park, a key tourism destination in Colombia, faces threats from armed groups like the Self-Defence Forces of the Sierra Nevada (ACSN). Following a 2016 peace deal, tourism surged, but so did violence and extortion. The ACSN, involved in drug trafficking and illegal mining, extorts local businesses and Indigenous communities. The Kogui Indigenous people express fear for their future, and the government has closed Tayrona National Park due to threats against park rangers from the ACSN, highlighting the ongoing danger in the region.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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