Manuel Denis Blandón

Manuel Denis Blandón is currently the legal representative of the community council of Jiguamiandó in Carmen del Darién. Manuel was displaced from his property in the Collective Territory of black communities of Jiguamiandó in 1997 and later his property was illegally occupied for the development of oil palm monoculture. Even though he has tried to delegitimize his actions and in spite of the constant threats against his life, he fervently promotes the process of effective restitution of the lands that were taken from them in a criminal manner. Manuel Denis led the creation of the humanitarian zones of Nueva Esperanza and Pueblo Nuevo, as a community strategy to defend the territory and a collective protection mechanism in this zone where the civilian population has been seriously affected by the armed conflict. He also declared his farm as a biodiversity zone, a space where he advances some protection initiatives, environmental forest conservation and agro-ecological production.