LAS DELICIAS, Colombia (AP) 鈥 Adriana Pazu wiped away tears as she remembered a colleague who was shot dead earlier this year by an armed dissident group for defending their land.
Pazu, an Indigenous authority from the Nasa territory of San Francisco, Torib铆o, was attending an Indigenous youth assembly this week in Las Delicias, Cauca, a region long affected by conflict. Despite years of threats and an official security detail, Pazu鈥檚 colleague Edgar Tumi帽a was killed 鈥 months after one of his bodyguards was killed in an earlier attack.
鈥淗e gave everything to protect this land and our youth,鈥 Pazu said, her voice breaking. 鈥淣ow, there are only a few of us left, holding onto this responsibility.鈥
Indigenous groups have often argued that they are uniquely qualified to act as protectors of the land, and have often fought for legal rights to do so. But in a region where for illegal mining, deforestation and logging, confronting that illegal activity . It鈥檚 especially so in regions like Cauca, where violent groups frequently target Indigenous children and teenagers for recruitment.
Pazu鈥檚 journey began years ago as a semillero leader 鈥 part of a weekend school where Indigenous youth are nurtured like seeds to grow into future leaders and .
These semilleros offer a sanctuary 鈥 teaching traditional Nasa culture, nonviolent resistance, community rituals, arts and self-defense 鈥 empowering youth with identity, skills and solidarity to
She said she鈥檚 prepared to carry on, even at great personal risk.
鈥淚鈥檝e told my family 鈥 I鈥檓 willing to give my life for this fight. Not with weapons, but by guiding, by speaking, by defending life and territory," she told The Associated Press during the assembly. "If death comes, it won鈥檛 scare me. What scares me is leaving these young people unprotected.鈥
鈥榊outh process鈥
High in the mountains of northern Cauca, the Indigenous reserve of Las Delicias sits in a region long scarred by violence. Its cemetery holds the body of Breiner David Cucu帽ame, a 14-year-old community member killed three years ago in a confrontation with dissidents from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the leftist guerilla group that signed a peace agreement with the government almost a decade ago.
Although one of many, Cucu帽ame's death became a symbol of the risks facing Indigenous youth and their deep commitment to defending their land. That legacy is one reason Las Delicias was chosen to host this year鈥檚 Indigenous youth assembly, the event鈥檚 39th session.
Brightly painted chiva buses 鈥 traditional, open-sided vehicles common in rural Colombia 鈥 carried hundreds of young people from across Cauca鈥檚 Nasa territories up narrow mountain roads to the reserve. They gathered to elect new leaders, share ancestral knowledge, and strategize how to protect their lives, culture, and land amid growing threats.
鈥淲e chose Las Delicias because it鈥檚 been hard-hit 鈥 a young person was murdered. We want to show that there鈥檚 still a youth process there,鈥 said Jhoiner Medina, 30, the outgoing leader of the Cauca youth movement.
Targeted assassinations
Violence in Cauca, and many other regions, intensified after Colombia鈥檚 2016 peace deal, as criminal groups and dissident factions moved to claim territory and control drug trafficking routes once held by demobilized FARC rebels.
Medina said children and teens have been the most affected.
鈥淎rmed groups have continued to recruit children and adolescents, and we are trying to offer alternatives through art, culture, and political training,鈥 he said.
The violence was evident in Las Delicias. Just below the cemetery where Cucu帽ame is buried, three burned-out military and police vehicles sit where residents set fire to them last year after a government operation that destroyed a drug lab. Authorities say residents were pressured by armed groups. But some in the community say distrust of official forces runs deep in this conflict-ridden region.
According to Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst for the International Crisis Group, Indigenous communities in Cauca are among Colombia鈥檚 most organized and socially cohesive 鈥 a strength that has made them a direct target of armed and criminal groups since the 2016 peace deal.
These groups, vying for control over trafficking routes and illicit economies, have sought to fracture the communities鈥 social fabric through targeted assassinations of traditional leaders, economic coercion, and infiltration of youth culture, Dickinson told AP.
Dickinson described youth movements as 鈥渃rucial鈥 to resisting recruitment and preserving cultural autonomy.
'It brings us together'
Held every two years, the youth assembly draws as many as 600 youth from across the region to elect new leaders, evaluate progress, and develop strategies to protect their communities from violence.
It also serves as a space to celebrate cultural identity through dance, music, and traditional practices 鈥 which organizers say are increasingly threatened by globalization and displacement.
Jhony Baicue Camago, 14, from the L贸pez Adentro Indigenous reserve in Cauca, spent four years in a semillero and now serves in the Indigenous Guard. He said the assembly is a vital space for young people to speak out, especially amid threats such as forced recruitment, sexual violence and extortion by armed groups.
Camago, who hopes to become a nurse, said cultural traditions like dance and music help unify and empower his community.
鈥淲hen we play the drums, when we dance, there鈥檚 a strength. It brings us together,鈥 he said.
But the dangers are real. Camago said he knows young people who have been recruited 鈥 and raped 鈥 by armed groups.
鈥淭hey use us as mere bait,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey send us to the front lines of the war.鈥
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