Last January 21st. members of the Colombian National Army irrupted into a wedding ceremony of Wayuú indigenous people, shooting arbitrarily at the more than 100 people gathered there. The army was alledgedly looking for presumed FARC members. Several people were killed, including a minor. None of them had any links to the guerrilla. Several others were injured, a pregnant woman was beaten, animals were killed and the army stole some personal posessions of the indigenous people. Three people were arrested, including the father of one of the murder victims. They are still arbitrarily detained.
Arbitrary detentions of indigenous people have also continued in other parts of Colombia. On March 29th, nine people were arbitrarily arrested in the Quinchía county, including several indigenous leaders. Over 150 indigenous people had been arrested in Quinchiá in 2003 and jailed for 22 months before being found innocent and freed.
(Source: Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia – ONIC yand Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo)