27 from farms between Puerto Valdivia and El which were left without any animals. The livestock was put into trucks and transferred to Caucasia. Members of the Army were herding the livestock. Several residents of El Aro were obliged to herd the cattle. When, two weeks’ later, they went to see if they would be paid, they were told that they would be killed. The Governor of Antioquia sent a telegram to the Inspector of Puerto Valdivia asking him to communicate with the secretary of the government who, in turn, asked him to communicate with the Army commander for the area and request help to retrieve the livestock. Subsequently, the official telephoned Lieutenant Bolaños, who told him that they were “members of the guerrilla; that the livestock belonged to the guerrilla; that it had been taken away.” On the Tuesday or Wednesday following the paramilitary incursion, a civic official who witnessed the events informed Amado Muñoz, head of the local government, about what had happened; the latter asked him “not to say anything” and not to report the matter. As a result of these facts, approximately 300 people displaced towards Puerto Valdivia. When they were crossing the Cauca River, the displaced saw Army soldiers on one side of the bridge and members of a paramilitary group on the other side. The paramilitary forces ordered the displaced not to say anything about what had happened in El Aro. In Puerto Valdivia, the displaced had to register at the secondary school, where “they were given assistance.” However, they were all “in a very bad situation, because many of them had had their cattle and mules seized.” “They were all left poverty-stricken.” Many people never returned to El Aro. Others do not go back because their safety is not guaranteed. The paramilitary groups continue taking livestock from the area. In the Inspector’s Office in Puerto Escondido, a paramilitary group had used and thrown away “the official records of births and marriages […] as if they had been toilet paper.” The situation of the paramilitary and other groups, the fear of another massacre, and the disappearance of their work and livelihood, mean that the displaced do not want to return permanently to El Aro. Some of them returned to El Aro, others remained in Puerto Valdivia, and some went to Medellín. b) Testimony proposed by the representatives28 The representatives presented the testimonial statements of ten people, including next of kin of the alleged victims and residents of El Aro at the time of the events; their statements are summarized below. Those responsible for the events in El Aro “had identified themselves as a selfdefense unit.” When they came to the village, the paramilitary group took several villagers to the village square, threw them on the ground and lined them up. The paramilitary forces accused all of them of collaborating with the guerrilla. They stretched out the people face downwards, they trampled on them, and then they shot them. 28 The names of the witnesses will remain confidential to protect their safety.