A Colombian hamlet is gripped by fear following the forced disappearance of eight residents - seven of them Protestant church leaders and members - after responding to orders issued by a guerrilla group earlier this month.
Most of the missing individuals are from the Evangelical Alliance of Colombia Denomination (DEAC) and the Foursquare Gospel Church (ICCG).
They include treasurer of the DEAC and president of the Community Action Board of Agua Bonita, Nixon Peñalosa, and former pastor of ICCG, Maryuri Hernández.
They are from the hamlet of Agua Bonita in Calamar Municipality, Guaviare Department, and were all previously displaced from Arauca Department, another region where armed groups have violently targeted church communities and shut down places of worship.
They were last seen on 4 and 5 April after being called to private meetings by an illegal armed group.
Family members, who initially tried to trace their loved ones, were later cautioned to abandon the search and told to “consider the case closed.”
Local sources informed Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) that some families are considering leaving the region due to growing threats and fear of retaliation.
The disappearances have renewed concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Guaviare, where splinter factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) operate despite the offer of the 2016 peace deal.
These armed groups, including the Central Staff of Blocks and Fronts (EMBF) and the Central General Staff (EMC), are known for their control of Calamar Municipality in Guaviare and for enforcing restrictions on religious gatherings.
Local pastors often have to seek permission from these groups to hold church services and are forced to avoid certain topics in sermons. Self-censorship is a matter of survival.
These premeditated assaults on Christians in Colombia are not new as a 28-year-old Protestant church leader, Iván García, was shot six times on 8 January in a targeted attack while walking home from a church gathering with his wife and stepdaughter.
A similar attack occurred two weeks before, where Pastor Marlon Lora and his entire family were killed.
The President of the DEAC, Pastor Fabian Cárdenas, is demanding urgent action from authorities to locate the missing individuals - four of whom were part of his denomination.
His appeal has been echoed by Calamar’s mayor, Farid Castaño Garcia, who says his requests for a national Security Council meeting have gone unanswered.
Churches from the DEAC and Foursquare Gospel Church have gathered in daily prayer since 9 April.
Lamenting to CSW, they said, “Fear is in all of us and although we trust that God is righteous and never abandons us, there are circumstances that can happen, such as the death of our brothers and sisters.”
Scot Bower, CEO of CSW, has urged President Gustavo Petro to act swiftly: “We call on President Gustavo Petro to take urgent action to determine the whereabouts and well-being of the eight individuals from Agua Bonita who were forcibly disappeared over 4 and 5 April.
"CSW stands with their families and church communities in demanding that the illegal armed group responsible for the forced disappearance of these men and women free them immediately.
"We are deeply troubled by the rising levels of violence in Guaviare and other parts of Colombia, the targeting of civilians, including religious leaders, by illegal armed and criminal groups, and the detrimental impact this has on all fundamental human rights including on freedom of religion or belief.”
