How and why has Plan Colombia increased tensions among the people?
Firstly, answering for the Kuna specifically, we used to be able to go to Colombia without a passport. Our brothers are there, and we could cross the border, and they were able to do the same. Second, the commercial relations we have had were with the Colombians, especially with the people of Cartagena. Now that they have begun to implement Plan Colombia, there is more military here than before. The area is militarised, one cannot go to visit one’s family, and the commercial boats cannot enter our territory. Therefore we cannot buy rice, we cannot buy sugar, we cannot sell our products to them. And as our black brothers and the indigenous population in Colombia are repressed, they are fleeing to our communities. We have lived peacefully on the border for years and years, even since the guerrilla groups were in the area and we have not had any conflict with them. It is not our problem: the problem is theirs. But now, it is no longer the same. The guerrillas are now a threat to the Kuna
