The blood-soaked hills of Catatumbo have become a symbol of Colombia’s enduring tragedy. As the country hurtles towards a presidential runoff, the conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives is finally taking centre stage. But for British workers and investors, the stakes are higher than a change in diplomatic rhetoric.
The oil fields that feed our pensions and fuel our cars are caught in the crossfire. BP, the British energy giant, holds a 40 per cent stake in the giant Cusiana oil field. Its operations in the Llanos Orientales region have been repeatedly targeted by guerrilla groups and hit by pipeline sabotage.
In a campaign overshadowed by violence, the two leading candidates are promising starkly different futures for the energy sector. Leftist Gustavo Petro vows to halt new oil exploration and end fracking, a move that could slash Colombia’s oil output by a third. His rival, populist Rodolfo Hernández, wants to ramp up extraction.
Neither offers a safe bet for British shareholders. But for the millions of Colombians who have seen their homes burned, their families kidnapped, and their villages turned into battlegrounds, the election is about survival. The conflict has killed over 260,000 people and displaced 7 million since the 1960s.
The peace deal with the FARC rebels in 2016 brought a fragile calm, but violence has surged as splinter groups fight for control of drug routes and illegal mines. In Catatumbo, coca cultivation has skyrocketed, funding armed groups that extort oil companies and local farmers alike. British oil workers stationed in Colombia face daily threats.
Kidnappings for ransom are common. The cost of private security on BP’s operations has ballooned. For every barrel of oil pumped, a portion goes to private armies.
The May 29 election will decide whether Colombia continues this uneasy marriage of war and commerce. A Petro victory could trigger a British government intervention. His pledge to nationalise the healthcare system and raise taxes on foreign firms has alarmed investors.
The Foreign Office is already drawing up contingency plans to protect British assets. In the northern city of Barrancabermeja, the refinery that processes most of Colombia’s crude is a fortress. Workers live in fear of the next attack.
For them, the election is a lifeline. But as the candidates crisscross the country, promising peace and prosperity, the reality is that Colombia’s war machine has become too profitable for some to stop. The next president will inherit a fractured nation where violence is a currency and oil is the blood in its veins.
British workers deserve to know the true cost of the petrol in their tanks.