Before talking about Comuna 13, it is important you understand the word “comuna” in the local context.

Comuna 13 History

Within what is now Comuna 13 there used to be a hamlet called Las Granjas. In the late 1800’s that was later changed to a neighborhood of Medellin called La America.

It was full of big farms devoted to agricultural production since the altitude is very appropriate to grow many types of fruits and vegetables.

However, the usage of the land changed dramatically  after 1946 when a housing cooperative transformed a big farm into a residential sector.

From that moment many illegal settlements developed in the surrounding areas (especially during the 60’s and 70’s) when many people sold their lands to new settlers coming from many different Colombian cities looking for jobs in the flourish economy.

More than 1,500 families settled in Comuna 13 and founded Las Independencias I, II, III and Nuevos Conquistadores (new Conquerors).

This is why we could say that Comuna 13 is a place that from it’s foundation has been poorly managed by the local government and it has been historically occupied by immigrants.

These victims were forced to leave their homes and live in this unknown new neighborhood with no skills apart from farming and construction knowledge.

All these displacement victims with no jobs, living in poorly self-constructed houses of wood and aluminum materials, taking water from contaminated streams and stealing electricity, were absolutely vulnerable to offers from gangs involved in smuggling and trafficking drugs.

From the late 80’s and beginning of 90’s Paramilitares, FARC and ELN were disputing the control of the area since this territory is strategically located as a way to take out cocaine and take in weaponry.

It was not until 2002 when Alvaro Uribe got elected as president of Colombia and decided to intervene in Comuna 13 along with the support and encouragement of the then Mayor of Medellin Luis Perez (currently the Governor of Antioquia).

As a result 10 military operations were implemented in 2002, but the two most important ones were Mariscal and Orión.

The Mariscal operation took place on the 21st of May 2002 with terrible outcomes: 9 people killed, 3 of them underage, all of them innocent civilians.

After getting two of her sons injured during the shootings, a mother decided to wave through the window a white bed sheet shouting “let me out, let me out, I need to take my children to the hospital”. A few minutes later, as an act of pure solidarity, many of her neighbors supported her by doing the same, and in less than 30 minutes the whole neighborhood was covered with white “waved flags” and that was the beginning of the end of the Mariscal Operation.

Thanks to her courage this Mariscal operation did not last that long, however a few hours were enough to destroy the morale of this community and to cause hundreds of displacements to other neighborhoods of Medellin.

Later, in October of 2002, the Orión Operation was implemented. That was the last and biggest military intervention with more than 1,500 officers, two helicopters and one tank brought to Comuna 13.

The Orión operation lasted for 3 days, in which the helicopters were shooting from the air affecting many houses with aluminum rooftops, injuring or killing innocent civilians hiding inside their houses.

It is presumed that the Colombian police and army partnered with the paramilitaries to wipe out the guerrillas from Comuna 13. How do we know that? Because there were many hooded men pointing out which houses should be searched by the police because they knew or believed that the rebels of FARC and ELN were hidden there.

During these 3 days 3 civilians, 10 rebels, 2 soldiers and 1 police officer were killed and many others injured. These are official figures, however the community believes that it is way more than that.

By fortune the end of the Orión operation was also the end of guerrillas in Comuna 13, but guess who took the control of the territory?

“Cold War” in Comuna 13, Medellin.

If you responded “the Paramilitaries” you are right. Since they were helping the Army to fight against guerrillas they got total control of Comuna 13 and a new kind of silent war started.

For the next 2 years paramilitaries were illegally judging and putting many people on trial who were condemned for supposedly helping the guerrillas when they were in charge. Those who were being found guilty were usually condemned to death.

Therefore from 2003 to 2004 (when paramilitaries demobilized) more than 200 people mysteriously disappeared and allegedly buried in a garbage dump called “La Escombrera”.

Through 2002, Comuna 13 registered 450 illegal detentions, 75 casualties out of combat, nearly 100 disappeared and more than 2,000 displaced residents.

During the following years Comuna 13 lived in relative peace since there were not any official paramilitaries or guerrillas. However many dissident gangs took control of the territory and are in charge (even today) of all kinds of illegal activities like trafficking, smuggling, extortions and homicides.

In 2006, as a compensation for many decades of neglecting Comuna 13, the elected mayor decided to invest a huge amount of money to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants and in 2008 a new cable car line in San Javier Station was built to integrate this Comuna with other surrounding communities.

These escalators allow people to climb 384 mts of a very steep hill in only 6 minutes instead of what used to be a torturous climb of 25 minutes.

Another great investment is the “Viaducto Media Ladera” which is a pathway that connects different neighborhoods in a wide and comfortable way, where even motorcycles are allowed and benches were installed so people can integrate outside their houses. The investment in this project was also costly, around 3,5 million dollars. However this project has helped the community greatly.

But definitely the most valuable asset in this place is its people. Welcoming, warm, cheerful, happy are all adjectives that perfectly fit for them. Proud of what they have been through, of what they learned of what they are and have become. Their desire that people shout out loud that their history changed, that their misfortune was left behind, and now their reality is that  their quality of life has improved a lot and that they feel thankful to God and the previous Medellin mayors.

What if all these projects would have been made 20 years ago? Would the conflict have ever happened?

If you want to see by yourself all this transformation, we invite you to take our Graffiti Tour in Comuna 13.

In our tour we explain you even more of the history that you just read in this article as well as the meanings of the graffitis painted throughout the whole neighborhood.

You will also have the chance to try a lot of different typical snacks from Medellin and the Colombian pacific region at the top of the hill.

We also take you for a cable car ride and also to a food market to have a delicious fruit tasting in which you can try at least 10 different fruits that you probably don’t know.

Just let us know when and where we should pick you up and we´ll be there to provide a memorable experience.