Colombia’s high-altitude Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta has become the latest flashpoint in the country’s worsening rural security crisis, after armed clashes between illegal groups left Indigenous communities trapped in the crossfire and triggered a humanitarian evacuation mission.

Authorities confirmed that at least nine wounded civilians, including two minors, were evacuated following heavy fighting between the Clan del Golfo (Gulf Clan) and paramilitary group Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada, which are battling for territorial control in the mountainous region.

The fighting first broke out in the foothills near Aracataca, department of Magdalena, and birthplace of Literature Nobel Laurate Gabriel García Márquez. According to local news sources, several indigenous Arhuaco communities reported being trapped by gunfire, and in some cases, used as human shields during the armed confrontations.

Colombia’s human rights ombudsman, the Defensoría del Pueblo, deployed a humanitarian mission to monitor the deteriorating situation and coordinate assistance with Indigenous authorities, regional officials and the armed forces.

The operation succeeded in evacuating nine injured people who had been confined in areas affected by the fighting. Among the wounded are two children, highlighting the vulnerability of civilian populations in the isolated highlands.

The mission was carried out in the Indigenous community of Gunmaku, where Arhuaco traditional authorities accompanied humanitarian teams in assessing the impact of the violence and assisting those affected.

Officials said both armed groups agreed to temporarily respect a humanitarian corridor, allowing rescue teams to reach the injured and transport them to safety.

Despite the evacuation, the Defensoría warned that the situation remains critical.

Preliminary humanitarian reports indicate the disappearance of two women, the killing of a man, and the injury of a child, while many residents remain confined in their communities due to the ongoing clashes.

“We are deeply concerned about the population in Serankua and nearby rural settlements,” stated the ombudsman’s office, referring to communities located high in the Sierra Nevada where access is extremely difficult.

The entity added that the confrontation had been anticipated in earlier early-warning alerts, but the national government failed to fully prevent the escalation.

Rescue operations have been complicated by the region’s extreme geography.

Much of the affected territory lies more than 2,800 metres above sea level, accessible only by footpaths and rugged mountain trails. Helicopter evacuations carried out by the Colombian Army involved considerable risk due to the altitude and lack of landing zones.

Magdalena governor Margarita Guerra Zúñiga confirmed that the military conducted what she described as a “humanitarian extraction” operation, transporting injured civilians to Santa Marta for treatment.

Several evacuees are receiving medical attention and are in stable condition, except for one child who required emergency surgery.

Indigenous leaders are now warning of forced displacement, similar to the humanitarian crisis last year in the mountainous Catatumbo region, Norte de Santander, close to the Venezuelan border.

Protection agencies, such as the Childrens Welfare Agency (ICBF) are calling on armed groups to respect international humanitarian law, particularly the principles of distinction and precaution, which prohibit attacks against civilians or the use of non-combatants as human shields.

Human rights monitors also called for stronger state presence in the Sierra Nevada, warning that ancestral communities remain highly vulnerable to violence and coercion from criminals.

Security analysts claim the clashes are part of a broader territorial struggle for control of drug trafficking routes that extend from La Guajira to the Uraba Gulf, as well as expanding extortion networks along Colombia’s Caribbean coast.

The Clan del Golfo, Colombia’s largest drugs cartel, has expanded operations across the Caribbean in recent years. The group is now competing for more territorial control with the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada,  also known as “Los Pachenca”.

The Sierra Nevada — a vast mountainous ecosystem rising from the Caribbean coast to snow-capped peaks — is the spiritual and ancestral home for the Arhuaco, Kogui, Wiwa and Kankuamo peoples.

Community leaders warn that the expansion of armed groups threatens not only civilian lives but also the ecological and cultural balance of the mountain range, which Indigenous “elders” – mamos – regard as the “Heart of the World”.

Humanitarian agencies have urged Colombia’s government to convene the Intersectoral Commission for Rapid Response to Early Warnings (CIPRAT) and strengthen coordination between the Interior Ministry, regional authorities and the Victims’ Unit.

While more army units are being deployed to the area, Indigenous leaders warn that unless the government of President Petro establishes a permanent security and humanitarian presence, the remote communities inside the world’s highest coastal mountain range will find themselves trapped in a conflict that engulfs not only their ancient territories, but also, one of the country’s most recognized tourism destinations.

President Gustavo Petro has announced the start of a consultation process with ethnic communities to draft a new decree protecting the sacred “Black Line” of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta after Colombia’s highest administrative court annulled the previous legal framework governing the ancestral territory.

The announcement came late on March 4 during an interethnic assembly in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta attended by Indigenous authorities, Afro-Colombian representatives and members of Petro’s government.

The process follows a February 12 ruling by the Council of State of Colombia that struck down Decree 1500 of 2018, a measure issued under former president Juan Manuel Santos that formally recognized the “Black Line” as the spiritual and cultural boundary of the ancestral territory of the Sierra Nevada’s Indigenous peoples.

The ruling removed the legal recognition of 348 sacred sites across the mountain range, an area spanning the Caribbean departments of La Guajira, Magdalena Department and Cesar Department.

The court concluded the decree had not complied fully with the constitutional requirement of prior consultation with all ethnic communities potentially affected by the territorial delimitation.

Sacred geography

For the Indigenous peoples who inhabit the Sierra Nevada – Arhuaco, Kogi, Wiwa and Kankuamo p – the “Black Line” is far more than a geographic boundary.

It represents a cosmological network of sacred sites connecting coastal lagoons, rivers, glaciers and mountain peaks across what Indigenous leaders describe as the “Heart of the World.”

Through these sites, spiritual elders – known as mamos – maintain rituals they say preserve the balance between humans, nature and the spiritual realm.

“The Sierra is not only a mountain; it is a living being that breathes through its lagoons, its glaciers, its stones and its lines of energy,” Indigenous leaders said following the ruling, warning that removing the decree threatens decades of cooperation between the state and Indigenous authorities.

The now-annulled decree had been the product of years of negotiations between Indigenous authorities and the Colombian government following orders from the Constitutional Court of Colombia to formally recognize ancestral territories and sacred geography.

The mapping of the 348 sites was supported by technical studies conducted by the national mapping agency, the Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi.

For Indigenous leaders, the decree served as the main legal instrument protecting the sacred network from outside interventions, including mining projects, infrastructure development, tourism ventures and energy exploration.

With its annulment, communities fear they are left without an effective legal mechanism to defend the territory and its ecosystems.

The Sierra Nevada is widely regarded by scientists as one of the most biodiverse mountain systems on Earth, rising from sea level to snow-covered peaks in less than 50 kilometres.

Speaking before Indigenous delegates in Santa Marta, Petro said the consultation process would now place communities at the centre of the decision-making process.

“Here a process begins in which you have the word, not the government,” Petro told the assembly. “Now corresponds a process of consultation. The consultation belongs to you. I hope it ends well and quickly so we can issue the decree again.”

The president urged participants to move forward without unnecessary delays while ensuring the key issues are discussed.

“Sometimes our own dialectic of discussion leads us to prolong processes or find contradictions where none exist,” he said.

Petro framed the protection of the Sierra Nevada not only as a territorial matter but also as a message to a world facing increasing geopolitical conflict.

“The Heart of the World must be at peace, because if the Heart of the World is not at peace, humanity will not be at peace,” Petro said. “Today humanity is not at peace – missiles fall everywhere.”

The government says the consultation will include not only the four Indigenous nations of the Sierra but also neighbouring groups such as the Ette Ennaka people and coastal communities including Afro-descendant groups and residents of Taganga.

According to Vice-Minister for Social Dialogue and Human Rights Gabriel Rondón, the current stage is an “intercultural dialogue” designed to define a roadmap toward a new decree that avoids the legal flaws identified by the Council of State.

“The purpose is to start from the beginning, clarify doubts and create a broad path that allows us to agree on a new administrative act without the failures of the previous one,” Rondón said.

PNN Tayrona reopens

Separately, the government confirmed that the nearby Tayrona National Natural Park will reopen to visitors on March 5 after a three-month closure over security concerns with illegal armed groups operating in the Sierra Nevada.

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MinCIT), said it has mobilised institutional support and technical funding to ensure the park resumes operations with security and sustainability guarantees.

Tourism authorities also announced plans for light infrastructure investments of about COP$2.7 billion to improve visitor facilities and promote Colombia’s network of national parks as leading ecotourism destinations.