MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colombia brings 12 Mexican Mennonites to trial over deforestation

The case unfolds amid local tensions over land use and environmental impacts, with Indigenous communities — including the Sikuani — urging the state to safeguard territorial rights

Colombia’s prosecutor’s office is taking 12 Mexican Mennonites to trial over alleged deforestation of more than 100 hectares in rural Puerto Gaitán, Meta province, tied to agricultural land development carried out between 2016 and 2021.

Prosecutors say the group cut natural forest and cleared vegetation without environmental permits, while also affecting waterways and carrying out works designed to enable the movement of heavy machinery — including building bridges to link neighboring plots. The defendants face charges that include illegal use of renewable natural resources, damage to natural resources and invasion of an area deemed of special ecological importance.

Colombian Prosecutor's Office said the accused had agricultural experience and “knew” that felling trees and removing vegetation cover requires authorization from the environmental authority, but did not obtain it.

The case unfolds amid local tensions over land use and environmental impacts, with Indigenous communities — including the Sikuani — urging the state to safeguard territorial rights and environmental stewardship, according to accounts cited in local reporting.

The proceedings also come as deforestation pressures remain high in Meta, a key ecological hinge between the Andes and the Amazon. MapBiomas Colombia, cited in coverage of the investigation, reports the department still retains substantial natural land cover but continues to lose forest area year after year.

Nationally, Colombia lost 113,608 hectares of forest in 2024 — roughly a 43% increase from 2023 — according to official figures released by the Environment Ministry and carried by international agencies.