Yuly Velásquez, president of Fedepesan, a sustainable fishing organization, stands in a wooden canoe, hacking away at reeds caked in blackened oil sludge in the San Silvestre wetlands of Barrancabermeja. The once-thriving biodiversity hotspot, home to manatees, jaguars, and endangered river turtles, has become a death zone for wildlife and the communities that depend on it.

Environmental Catastrophe in Barrancabermeja

Barrancabermeja, often called Colombia’s oil city, is a region of swamps, lagoons, and forests that serves as a critical corridor for jaguars and a sanctuary for manatees. However, its status as the country’s largest oil producer has come at a steep environmental cost.

Ecopetrol, a state-owned oil company, operates a refinery in the area that produces 250,000 barrels of crude oil daily, meeting 80% of the nation’s fuel needs. For decades, the company has been accused of oil and toxic waste leaks that have poisoned rivers and wetlands, collapsing fish populations and degrading water quality.

A 2025 report by the Environmental Investigation Agency and Earthworks identified more than 800 records of “major environmental damage” caused by Ecopetrol, with the majority occurring between the mid-1990s and mid-2010s. The report cited a “web of deceit and cover-ups” to conceal these incidents, noting that a fifth were not reported to Colombian authorities.

Ecopetrol has denied allegations of water contamination, stating that its operations comply with environmental regulations and that it has invested in reducing discharges and protecting wildlife. However, by the end of 2024, large areas of the wetlands remained contaminated from a pipeline fracture, with oily sheens visible in the water and a pungent petrol smell in the air.

Fishing Communities on the Brink

For riverside communities, the environmental degradation has had a direct impact on their livelihoods. Luis Carlos Lambraño, a 56-year-old fisherman who has fished in the area for 37 years, says the situation is dire.

“Yet again, hundreds of fish, snakes, birds, turtles, and caimans have died overnight,” he said. “If we can’t fish, we can’t eat.” Lambraño described the emotional toll of watching the ecosystem collapse. “I feel utter sadness.”

Ronaldo Martínez, 68, a water buffalo farmer, has witnessed the poisoning of his livestock from the contaminated water. “The buffalo drink the water, get poisoned, and die,” he said. “We’ve had about 30 buffalo die this way in the last five years.”

According to Martínez, the oil contamination has become so severe that when fish are cut open after oil spills, “they taste like oil.” He pointed to Ecopetrol as the primary cause. “They should have a way of managing their pools. Their oxidation ponds should be working.”

Armed Groups Expand Control

Compounding the environmental crisis is the growing presence of illegal armed groups, known as “gasoline gangs,” who have moved into the area. These groups exploit the oil infrastructure to siphon fuel and sell it on the black market, further polluting the waterways.

Velásquez described the daily theft of gasoline by these gangs. “They collect it in massive plastic bags,” she said. “When they break, which has happened at least twice, it spills into all of the water.”

The presence of these groups has made fishing not only economically unviable but also dangerous. Local activists report threats, intimidation campaigns, and assassination attempts. Drones are used by armed groups to monitor and shadow fishing boats until they retreat.

Velásquez, who has faced repeated attacks on her home, three assassination attempts, and numerous threats to her family, described the risks of speaking out. “It has been devastating,” she said. “After Luis Arango was assassinated in 2012, it took a long time for people to raise their voices again.”

Lambraño recounted an incident in February when he was intercepted by gang members and chased off the water. “They fired shots in the air, then followed me, shining their torch on me, until I left,” he said.

Eñi Salazar, a 66-year-old fisher, has also faced threats from armed men for merely fishing in the wetlands. In one incident, her boat engine was seized and she was threatened with death. In another, armed men opened fire during an environmental monitoring activity, with bullets hitting her boat’s engine.

“They said to me: ‘We know who you are, we know your face, so if we ever see you here again, we’ll kill you,’” Salazar said.

Amnesty International has documented a permanent atmosphere of harassment for fishing families in Barrancabermeja, including extortion attempts, direct threats, and forced displacement. Alejandro Jiménez Ospina, a researcher for Amnesty International, said the presence of armed groups has intensified in recent years.

“Oil smugglers, armed groups — everyone wants the water,” he said. “Whoever controls the water controls Barrancabermeja.”

Such intimidation has forcibly displaced 26 fishing families in February 2025. Velásquez said that about 100 of her colleagues have stopped fishing. “You don’t mess with the armed groups. If you don’t listen, they will kill you,” she said.

But Velásquez insists that waiting for action is no longer an option. “Every day we see places where wildlife used to live disappear,” she said. “We can’t wait for someone else to come and take care of it for us.”

The community’s demand is simple, Velásquez said. “We want to be left alone to live in peace,” she said. “And to truly be able to enjoy our marsh, our river, day and night, without limits or restrictions telling us what time we can enter or what time we can leave, or where we can and can’t be.”