Aguazul () is a town and municipality in the
Department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Casanare,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. Its economy is dependent on oil, mainly Cupiagua and Cusiana fields. Other important products of its economy are livestock and rice. As of 2004, Leonel Torres has been mayor of the city.
History
"La Violencia"
During the time known as ''La Violencia'', or "The Violence", Aguazul, as well as most of Casanare, was controlled by liberal guerrillas. The region was a political and military zone of influence, even being declared independent by the promulgation of the Vega Perdida Constitution.
In those times, Aguazul was known as Sevilla and was an important trade center and one of the few passage ways for livestock for the inner meat market.
The city was destroyed by the Colombian Air Force bombardments and was rebuilt in the same location but across the river.
Armed conflict
Traditionally the zone was controlled by the leftist
Ejército de Liberación Nacional
The National Liberation Army (Spanish: ''Ejército de Liberación Nacional'', ELN) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict, . During the 1995-1998 time period, it was subject to intense combat and a scenario of continuing murder perpetrated by paramilitary groups, which succeeded in gaining control of the area.
The presence of the paramilitary group Autodefensas Campesinas de Casanare, whose base of operations was in the nearby municipalities of
Villanueva and
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
, was a constant until 2004 when the group surrendered the zone to the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia AUC, in a battle which is said to have cost more than 3.000 lives.
Climate
Aguazul has a
tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...
(Am) with moderate to little rainfall from December to March and heavy to very heavy rainfall from April to November.
Born in Aguazul
*