Family and friends at a funeral for Manuel Tumiña, a member of the Indigenous Guard in Toribio, Cauce Department, who was killed along with his college Daniel Coicue by a FARC member on November 5, 2014.

An improvised bazooka loaded with firecrackers is used against the police.

Members of the Indigenous Guard block the road with a huge stone, so that neither the police nor the military can pass. The indigenous people from the Nasa tribe hold 20,000 hectares of sugar cane fields.

A police officer with his finger on the trigger at the outer strongpoint in Toribio. For local residents, the presence of the army means shooting and bombs, which the locals have to disable.

As a form of protection against rebel attacks, police convoys are escorted by armored vehicles.

The cultivation of marijuana thrives in Toribio and Tacueyo and sustains the conflict. The indigenous people work the land for low pay, and the owners of drug plantations, who are usually from other regions, come to promote marijuana production and trade.

Pelegrino, an Indigenous Guard leader, plays a flute made from a plastic tube.

Poppy fields in Tacueyo, Cauce. Green and red are the colors of the Indigenous Guard, and they symbolize earth and blood. The Guard brings to the fore questions about issues such as land use, mining, drug trafficking, and the ties between drug dealers and local officials in Colombia and across South America.

Mountains around Tacueyo lit up by the light from marijuana greenhouses. The Indigenous Council does not approve of the cultivation of marijuana, poppies, or coca but is also unable to stop it. The cultivation and sale of drugs has increased against the background of protracted war and dire poverty.

About 100 members of the Indigenous Guard have come together to force soldiers out of the village after a local woman was killed during hostilities between the army and the rebels. The army camp was located near the village and posed a threat to local residents.

Daniel Coicue’s body arrives at the cemetery, and Indigenous Guard members perform a silent guard drill, holding red and green flags. Wooden sticks rather than weapons symbolize the Guards’ authority.

Family and friends mourn at the house of Manuel Tumina, a member of the Indigenous Guard in Toribio, Cauca. Tumina was killed together with his college Daniel Coicue by a FARC member on Wednesday November 5th.

Body of Indigenous Guard member Manuel Tumiña in his Toribio house.

Family and friends at the funeral of Manuel Tumiña, who was killed on November 5, 2014, by a FARC member.

A young Guardsman keeps the night watch at a checkpoint at the city’s entrance. At night armed groups are not allowed into the city.

Olmedo Ramos, an Indigenous Guard leader, during a meeting in Toribio. The armed groups operating in the region threaten him with reprisals.

FARC member Carlos Ivan Silva, right, was handed a sixty-year prison term for killing Manuel Tumiña. The harsh penalty
was designed to set judicial precedent
.

Arms and munitions confiscated during the capture of seven FARC fighters responsible for killing Indigenous Guard members. Unarmed Guards encircled the rebels and persuaded them to surrender.

The public destruction of weapons confiscated during the detention of seven FARC members by the Indigenous Guard. Local residents cheer and take pictures of this historic event, showing the resilience of the indigenous people in Colombia’s southeast.

The public burning of weapons confiscated during the detention of seven FARC members.