[Translated by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

“The blockade that had been in place for more than a week in Buriticá has been lifted” – 18 February 2023

On Saturday morning, the blockade that had closed access to the Zijin Continental Gold mine in the municipality of Buriticá since 10 February was lifted.

This closure not only affected the activities of the complex, but also the free transit of more than 1,000 inhabitants of a village and three hamlets of this town in the west of Antioquia.

“Positive sign. Blockade lifted in Buriticá. Good sense prevailed after the massive protest against the blockade,” Governor Gaviria wrote on his Twitter account.

On 13 February, the communities affected by the blockade had demonstrated to demand its lifting. “The people are tired of illegal mining, mistreatment and insults, the sudden closure of roads, as well as the presence of foreign miners requisitioning people from the community, and the supposedly unsubstantiated peaceful marches,” said some of the participants in the demonstration.

But those who maintained the blockade denounce land dispossession and claim that the Chinese company is affecting the people involved in ancestral mining. In addition, they claim that the bodies of missing persons are said to be under the mountains where the multinational operates. However, the company assures that it has not received any complaint in this regard.

Faced with the conflictive public order situation in the municipality due to illegal structures such as the Clan del Golfo [right-wing paramilitary gang], who take advantage of the income from informal mining, the company Zijin Continental Gold has threatened to close its operations…