They have lost access to their homes, their land, and their livelihoods.
En los márgenes de Colombia, donde el Estado llega tarde y los grupos armados llegan primero, más de doscientas familias han abandonado sus hogares en Cumbitara, Nariño, desde el 23 de marzo de 2026, empujadas por el fuego cruzado entre tres organizaciones que disputan el control del territorio. No es una crisis imprevista: las instituciones ya habían advertido este riesgo en 2024, y la advertencia, ignorada, se ha convertido en realidad. Lo que ocurre allí es el rostro más antiguo de la guerra interna colombiana: civiles que pagan con su desarraigo las ambiciones territoriales de actores armados.
- Tres grupos armados —el Frente Franco Benavides, los Comuneros del Sur y las AUN— llevan más de diez días en combate sostenido por el control de territorios rurales en el sur de Nariño.
- Seis veredas han quedado vaciadas: sus habitantes huyeron con lo que pudieron cargar hacia el casco urbano de Sidón y el municipio de Cumbitara, donde se refugian en residencias estudiantiles y casas particulares.
- La Defensoría del Pueblo exige un cese inmediato de hostilidades y ha activado protocolos de emergencia que involucran a los ministerios del Interior, Educación, Defensa y Salud, así como al ICBF y la Unidad para las Víctimas.
- La crisis no sorprende a quienes leen los archivos institucionales: una alerta temprana emitida en 2024 identificó exactamente a estos actores y anticipó este escenario de desplazamiento masivo.
- Las autoridades advierten que el desplazamiento podría agravarse si los enfrentamientos continúan, dejando a más familias sin hogar en una región que acumula décadas de conflicto armado.
Desde el 23 de marzo de 2026, los combates entre grupos armados no han cesado en Cumbitara, municipio del departamento de Nariño, en el sur de Colombia. Más de doscientas familias han abandonado las veredas de Santa Elena, El Desplayado, La Florida, San José del Bijao, Boca de Mares y San Agustín, buscando refugio en el casco urbano de Sidón y en el propio municipio de Cumbitara, donde las autoridades locales han habilitado una residencia estudiantil y casas privadas para alojarlas.
Los responsables del desplazamiento son tres organizaciones armadas que se disputan el dominio territorial: el Frente Franco Benavides —vinculado a disidencias de las extintas FARC bajo el mando de un comandante conocido como Iván Mordisco— enfrenta a los Comuneros del Sur, de raíces en el ELN, y a un grupo denominado AUN. El choque es continuo y sin señales de tregua.
La Defensoría del Pueblo ha exigido el cese inmediato de las hostilidades y ha ordenado a varias entidades del Estado —los ministerios del Interior, Educación, Defensa y Salud, el ICBF y la Unidad para las Víctimas— activar protocolos humanitarios de emergencia para atender a las familias desplazadas. La institución también advierte que el número de desplazados podría aumentar si la violencia persiste.
Lo que hoy es una crisis humanitaria fue ayer una advertencia ignorada. En 2024, la Defensoría emitió una alerta temprana sobre Cumbitara en la que identificaba a estos mismos actores armados y señalaba el riesgo de que su rivalidad territorial derivara en un desplazamiento masivo de civiles. Esa alerta se ha cumplido con precisión.
Las familias desplazadas esperan ahora en condiciones precarias, sin acceso a sus tierras ni a sus medios de vida. La pregunta que pende sobre Cumbitara es si los grupos armados atenderán el llamado al cese del fuego. Si no lo hacen, la crisis que ya afecta a cientos de personas seguirá creciendo en una región que conoce demasiado bien el peso del conflicto prolongado.
On March 23, armed groups clashed in Cumbitara, a municipality in Colombia's Nariño department, and the fighting has not stopped. More than two hundred families have since fled their homes—leaving behind the rural villages of Santa Elena, El Desplayado, La Florida, San José del Bijao, Boca de Mares, and San Agustín. They have moved to the town center of Sidón and to Cumbitara's urban core, seeking safety in a student residence and in private homes that local authorities have opened to them.
The combatants are three armed groups locked in a struggle for territorial control. The Franco Benavides Front, associated with dissident factions linked to a commander known as Iván Mordisco, is fighting against the Comuneros del Sur and a group calling itself the AUN. The clashes have been continuous since late March, with no sign of resolution. Authorities have warned that more families may be forced to leave in the coming days and weeks as the violence persists.
This displacement is not accidental. It is the direct result of armed actors using force to drive civilians from their land—a tactic that violates international humanitarian law. The Ombudsman's office, a state institution tasked with defending citizens' rights, has issued a formal call for the fighting to stop immediately and for the armed groups to cease harming the civilian population. The office has also directed national ministries—Interior, Education, Defense, and Health—along with the Unit for Victims, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, and other relevant agencies to activate emergency protocols to care for and support the displaced families.
What is happening in Cumbitara was not unforeseen. In 2024, the Ombudsman's office issued an early-warning alert specifically about this municipality, flagging the risk that armed groups competing for control of territory and population would create exactly this kind of crisis. The alert named the Franco Benavides Front, the Comuneros del Sur, Second Marquetalia, and the AUN as the actors involved. The alert warned that their rivalry could destabilize the region and harm civilians. That warning has now materialized.
The groups fighting in Cumbitara have roots in Colombia's larger armed conflict. The Franco Benavides Front traces its lineage to the Western Bloc of the now-dissolved Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The Comuneros del Sur was once linked to the National Liberation Army. These organizations, along with the AUN, are now battling each other for control of territory in southern Nariño—a region that has long been contested ground in Colombia's internal conflict.
The families sheltering in Sidón and Cumbitara town are now waiting. They have lost access to their homes, their land, and their livelihoods. Authorities are providing emergency shelter and food, but the underlying conflict remains unresolved. The Ombudsman's office says it will continue monitoring the situation and supporting affected communities, but the immediate question is whether the armed groups will heed the call to cease fire. If they do not, more families will likely join those already displaced, deepening a humanitarian crisis in a region that has endured decades of violence.
Citas Notables
The Ombudsman's office called for the armed groups to cease combat immediately and stop harming the civilian population.— Ombudsman's office statement
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Cumbitara matter? It's a small municipality in a remote part of Nariño. Why should someone outside the region care about what's happening there?
Because it shows how armed groups still use displacement as a weapon of control. Two hundred families didn't leave because they wanted to. They left because three groups are fighting over who owns the territory they live on. That's not a local problem—it's a pattern that repeats across Colombia.
The early-warning alert from 2024 predicted this. So the state knew it was coming. Why didn't they prevent it?
That's the hard question. An alert means the Ombudsman's office documented the risk and sent it up the chain. But knowing something will happen and having the capacity to stop it are different things. In a region with limited state presence and multiple armed groups, prevention is nearly impossible without a political solution.
What happens to these families now? Are they safe in Sidón?
Safer than in their villages, probably. But safety is temporary. They're in student residences and borrowed homes. If the fighting spreads, they may have to move again. And even if it stops tomorrow, they can't go home until someone guarantees the armed groups won't return.
Which group is likely to win control of Cumbitara?
That's not really the point. Even if one group consolidates power, the families still lose. They've been displaced. Their homes are in a war zone. The outcome of the territorial dispute doesn't restore what they've lost.
The Ombudsman called for a ceasefire. Do armed groups listen to those calls?
Rarely. The call is important because it creates a record—it documents that the state recognized the harm and asked for it to stop. But armed groups fighting for territory don't typically respond to institutional appeals. They respond to military pressure or political negotiation, neither of which is happening in Cumbitara right now.