Its territory is the scene of a very intense conflict between different armed legal and illegal actors, among which are the dissidence of the FARC and the active structures of the ELN, the strengthened United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, the Black Eagles and common crime, which the control of the territory is disputed for the mobility of arms, men, drug output, in addition to the cultivation of illicit use and trafficking of supplies for the processing of drugs, all this trying to be fought by the Colombian Army and the Colombian Police.
The Awá territory is rich in mining and logging resources that generate interest from industries dedicated to the extraction of these riches and agroindustrial megacultures, such as the African Palm.
Under this vision, since the year 2000, the Awá people have experienced a situation of violation of their fundamental rights by all the armed, legal and illegal actors, and run the risk of becoming extinct if something is not done in the present.
The Awá people suffered three massacres in 2009, where 40 Awá Indians were murdered (Tortugaña-Telembí Rescue Massacre on February 4, 2009, the Ñambí Piedra Verde Rescue Massacre on May 10, 2009 and the Massacre of the Great Resguardo Rosario of August 26, 2009) two forced displacements (Tortugaña-Telembí with 400 people and Gran Rosario with 300 people).
In the jungle the threat is constant and invisible because behind any tree or bend in the road or meander of the river violence can affect anyone and at any time.