Colombian army deploys hundreds of soldiers in country's southwest after land dispute leaves 7 dead

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian security forces Friday flooded into the southwestern municipality of Silvia following a violent territorial dispute between two Indigenous groups the day before that left at least seven people dead and more than 100 injured.

The army said on social media that more than 500 soldiers, along with air support, would be deployed to the area to provide security for the communities and prevent the situation from escalating.

Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday provided news outlets with a preliminary toll of at least seven dead and over 110 injured — most of them by gunfire. “This figure could rise," he warned.

The clashes took place in a rural area of ​​the Cauca department between the Misak and Nasa Indigenous groups, both of whom claim ownership of the same territory.

Colombia's state-run National Land Agency said in a news release that since tensions first flared in April, it has participated in mediation sessions and technical working groups to “provide clarity regarding the territorial boundaries of the two groups.” The agency urged both communities to remain at the negotiating table.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia on Thursday issued a call for calm to the communities and urged authorities to investigate and prosecute those responsible for causing the deaths and injuries.

Illegal armed groups are active in the region, including dissident factions of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, that rejected the landmark 2016 peace agreement with the government.

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Members of the Misak community mourn as forensic investigators deliver the body of Luis Tunubala, governor of the Guambia Indigenous reserve, who was killed during clashes with the Nasa community over a land dispute in Silvia, Colombia, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Misak Indigenous patrol after deadly clashes with the Nasa community over a land dispute in Silvia, Colombia, Friday, May 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Members of the Misak community gather awaiting the arrival of the bodies of people killed in clashes with the Nasa community over a land dispute in Silvia, Colombia, Friday, May 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Misak Indigenous guards patrol after deadly clashes with the Nasa community over a land dispute in Silvia, Colombia, Friday, May 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Misak Indigenous guards patrol after deadly clashes with the Nasa community over a land dispute in Silvia, Colombia, Friday, May 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

A Misak Indigenous woman stands amid the ruins of a house torn down during clashes with the Nasa community over a land dispute in Silvia, Colombia, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A coalition of President Donald Trump's critics, including a fired prosecutor and a college professor acquitted of assaulting federal agents at a protest, sued Friday to block payouts from a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for Trump allies claiming to be victims of a weaponized government.

The lawsuit adds fuel to a mounting backlash against the Trump administration's creation of an “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to resolve the Republican president's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.

Plaintiffs' attorneys from the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward are seeking a court order halting the fund's implementation and preventing the Trump administration from disbursing any payouts from it. The federal suit, filed in Alexandria, Virginia, claims there is no legal basis or accountability behind the fund.

“The unlawfulness that has imbued the Anti-Weaponization Fund from its inception requires that it be wholly dismantled,” the suit says.

Two police officers who helped defend the U.S. Capitol from a mob's attack on Jan. 6, 2021, also sued this week to prevent anyone, including Capitol rioters, from receiving payments from the settlement fund.

During a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wouldn’t rule out the possibility that rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6 could be eligible for fund payouts.

The plaintiffs for Friday’s lawsuit include former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Floyd, an Alexandria resident who prosecuted Capitol riot cases in Washington, D.C., before he was fired last year by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. Floyd was a deputy chief of the Justice Department’s Capitol Siege Section. He believes his firing was retaliation for his Jan. 6 work.

Another plaintiff is California State University Channel Islands professor Jonathan Caravello, who was acquitted of an assault charge. He was accused of throwing a tear gas canister at federal agents during a 2025 protest against an immigration raid at a Camarillo, California, cannabis farm.

Also named as plaintiffs are the government watchdog Common Cause; the city of New Haven, Connecticut; and the National Abortion Federation, an association of abortion providers. New Haven claims the Trump administration officials have targeted it and other municipalities that they perceive to be “sanctuary” cities. The federation fears that the fund will issue payments to people who have attacked abortion clinics, providing an incentive for more violence against its members.

The suit's defendants include the Justice and Treasury departments, Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Spokespeople for the departments didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The Capitol riot investigation was the largest in Justice Department history. Trump ended it with the stroke of his pardon pen, erasing hundreds of Jan. convictions.

Nearly 1,600 people were charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Over 1,200 were convicted and sentenced before Trump handed out mass pardons, commuted prison sentences and ordered the dismissal of every pending Jan. 6 criminal case.

Beneficiaries of Trump’s sweeping act of clemency included supporters who assaulted officers at the Capitol. He also freed far-right extremist group members who were imprisoned for plotting to attack the Capitol to keep Trump in office after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.

After Trump returned to the White House last year, he appointed conservative activist Ed Martin as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Martin, a leading advocate for Jan. 6 defendants, fired or demoted some prosecutors who worked on Capitol riot cases.

FILE - Rioters storm the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)