Ecopetrol faces serious pollution allegations in Colombia

Colombia's largest oil company, Ecopetrol, has been accused of polluting hundreds of sites, including water sources and wetlands. A whistleblower has provided leaked data showing over 800 instances of oil spills from 1989 to 2018. The data also suggests that Ecopetrol did not report about 20% of these incidents. Ecopetrol claims to follow Colombian laws and has sustainable practices. However, local fishermen say they have seen the effects of oil pollution on wildlife in the Magdalena River. Endangered species like river turtles and manatees have been found dead, and some fish they catch smell like crude oil. The community is concerned about the impact of pollution on both the environment and their livelihoods. The whistleblower, Andrés Olarte, worked at Ecopetrol from 2017 to 2019. He claims he noticed significantly troubling pollution data early in his employment and attempted to address it, but faced resistance from management. He later shared extensive internal documents with environmental groups and the BBC. One document lists 839 environmental impacts, suggesting areas where oil spills have not been cleaned up. Olarte contends that some cases were hidden from authorities. Ecopetrol's former CEO, Felipe Bayón, denied any intent to conceal pollution information, attributing spills to sabotage from armed groups. Despite this, recent data from Colombia's environmental regulator shows Ecopetrol has reported numerous oil spills since 2020. Environmental advocates in the Barrancabermeja area claim that pollution has caused significant harm to local wildlife and ecosystems. Both Olarte and local activist Yuly Velásquez have faced threats after speaking out against Ecopetrol. While Ecopetrol's management denounced these threats as unacceptable, there are concerns about the links between private security firms and violent groups in the region. Colombia remains a dangerous country for environmental defenders, with numerous killings reported in recent years.