Oil and violence in Arauca. Workers, armed conflict and repression (1983-2013)

Abstract

Objective: In this article we reconstructed a part of the historical evolution of the oil workers of the department of Arauca, located
in the Colombian Orinoquía, on the border with the neighboring country of Venezuela. We addressed some of the life trajectories of
the thousands of workers who arrived in the llanera region motivated by the discovery of the Caño Limón oil field in 1983. We analyzed their living and working conditions in the enclave built by the multinational Occidental Petroleum Company, more known as the OXY. We placed special emphasis on the various forms of repression that the oil workers have had to endure, in a department that has become a war laboratory for several decades. The workers have been left in the middle of the crossfire of the different armed actors that are fighting over the region. Methodology: We carried out field work in the city of Arauca where we interviewed oil workers and consulted the files located in the union sub directorate. Originality: Historical research on workers and violence has focused on the Andean and Caribbean regions, so it is necessary to address other territories. That is what we tried in this research by studying the oil workers of this plains area. Conclusions: The oil workers of the department of Arauca were essential to extract the riches from the subsoil. However, they have suffered the harshness of the armed conflict by being immersed in the violent dynamics of legal and illegal groups that operate in the region.