The Cordoba Teachers Association (ADEMACOR) reported Tuesday that
paramilitary gangs are threatening and extorting teachers throughout
the northern department.
Domingo Ayala, president of the association, told Caracol Radio that illegal armed groups are extorting up to US$250 a month from teachers whose monthly salary is less than US$500.
Ayala said the situation was worst in the municipalities of Valencia, Moñitos and
Montelíbano.
He said that some teachers have been forced to leave their workplace because they fear for their lives.
So far this year three teachers have been murdered in the Cordoba department.
There is ongoing insecurity in the region, with six murders in the department last weekend alone.
