Julie Freitas, mother of slain activist Terence Freitas protests in front of Occidental Petroleum headquarters several days earlier. Dang Ngo . All rights reserved. In Colombia, oil and violence are closely linked. Occidental's Ca o Lim n pipeline which runs through the northern part of the U'wa lands in Colombia has been bombed by guerillas 600 times over the past 13 years spilling over 1.7 million barrels of oil into the surrounding area.
Areas surrounding oil facilities are centers of human rights abuses.
The aid package is being opposed by a coalition of groups working for a peaceful end to Colombia's 30 year civil war. The oil drilling is set to begin on land that is within 500 meters of the U'wa reserve as designated by the Colombian government but well within the traditional territory of the U'wa. The area is estimated to hold 1.5 billion barrels of oil, which would provide only 3 weeks worth of global oil supply. Last week, the Colombian Government released a report indicating that Occidental's proposed well site is less than 300 meters from the U'wa community of Santa Marta. The fact that there are U'wa living so close to the well site seriously calls into question the validity of Occidental's drilling license, according to Colombian legal experts.