Mitú

Mitú (Spanish pronunciation: [miˈtu]) is the capital town of the department of Vaupés in Colombia.[3][4] It is a small town located in South eastern Colombia in the Amazon Basin. Founded in 1936, Mitú lies next to the Vaupés River at 180 meters above sea level. It is where the core of the services (transport and trade) are provided to the Vaupés Department.

"Mitu" redirects here. For other uses, see Mitu (disambiguation).
Mitú
City and municipality
Aerial view of Mitú
Aerial view of Mitú
Flag of Mitú
Flag
Official seal of Mitú
Seal
Location of the town and municipality of Mitú in the Department of Vaupés.
Location of the town and municipality of Mitú in the Department of Vaupés.
Mitú is located in Colombia
Mitú
Mitú
Coordinates: 1°11′54″N 70°10′24″W
Country Colombia
RegionAmazonía
DepartmentVaupés
Founded1936
Government
 • MayorCarlos Iván Ramiro Meléndez Moreno (L)[1]
Area
 • Total16.422 km2 (6.341 sq mi)
Elevation
183 m (600 ft)
Population
 (2018[2])
 • Total29,850
 • Density1,800/km2 (4,700/sq mi)
DemonymMituense
Time zoneUTC-5
Area code57 + 8
ClimateAf
WebsiteOfficial website (in Spanish)

The Vaupés River serves as connecting link between Mitú and nearby hamlets on the riverbanks, but there are no roads connecting the town to rest of the country. Accessible only by airplane and sea, Mitú is the most isolated capital in Colombia.

History

The founding of Mitú can be traced to the rivalry between Brazilians and Colombians exploiting rubber in the basins and ranges of the upper Guainía and Apaporis rivers. By 1903 there was an intense activity exploiting rubber in the area around the Vaupés river using the local Indians, of the ethnic groups tucano and carijonas, as slaves.

Mitú was erected as a modest hamlet in October 1936 by Miguel Cuervo Araoz. The town served as a meeting point between different indigenous communities, in addition to being a center of rubber tree exploitation, fur trade and missionary center. Its main activity was the rubber trade for food, clothing and fuel. After being for a time a township, in 1963 Mitú became the capital of the Vaupés Commissary (Comisaria). In 1974, it was made a municipality and in 1991 it became the capital of the new created department.

In November 1998, an estimated 1,500 FARC guerrilla members of the Eastern Bloc of the FARC-EP tried to take over the town by force, against 120 National Police members and one Colombian National Army Battalion in the Siege of Mitú.[5][6] The Colombian Air Force and Army Aviation supported ground forces with air raids. The guerilla members seized the airport, and they blew up a communications tower.[7] Mitú was left partially destroyed and some estimated 150 policemen and soldiers died, along with 10 civilians and over 800 guerrilla members.[5] In their escape FARC took hostages as human shields including some 40 to 45 members of the Colombian Military.[8]

On June 13, two of the hostages captured in Mitú in 1998, National Police Col. (now Gen.) Luis Mendieta and National Police Col. Enrique Murillo were freed by the Colombian army in a rescue operation named Operation Chameleon, located in Calamar, Guaviare. The following day, two other police officers were found and freed.[9]

Climate

Mitú has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af) and is hot, humid and wet throughout the year.

Climate data for Mitú
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 34.0
(93.2)		 34.6
(94.3)		 34.5
(94.1)		 33.8
(92.8)		 32.8
(91.0)		 32.1
(89.8)		 32.1
(89.8)		 32.6
(90.7)		 33.7
(92.7)		 33.5
(92.3)		 34.1
(93.4)		 33.2
(91.8)		 34.6
(94.3)
Average high °C (°F) 31.3
(88.3)		 31.5
(88.7)		 32.0
(89.6)		 31.2
(88.2)		 29.2
(84.6)		 29.5
(85.1)		 29.2
(84.6)		 30.1
(86.2)		 30.8
(87.4)		 30.6
(87.1)		 31.0
(87.8)		 30.9
(87.6)		 30.6
(87.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 26.4
(79.5)		 26.3
(79.3)		 26.5
(79.7)		 26.4
(79.5)		 25.6
(78.1)		 25.2
(77.4)		 25.1
(77.2)		 25.7
(78.3)		 25.9
(78.6)		 26.3
(79.3)		 25.9
(78.6)		 26.3
(79.3)		 26.0
(78.7)
Average low °C (°F) 20.1
(68.2)		 20.2
(68.4)		 21.3
(70.3)		 21.1
(70.0)		 21.3
(70.3)		 21.5
(70.7)		 19.9
(67.8)		 20.5
(68.9)		 20.8
(69.4)		 21.0
(69.8)		 21.1
(70.0)		 19.9
(67.8)		 20.7
(69.3)
Record low °C (°F) 17.4
(63.3)		 17.2
(63.0)		 19.2
(66.6)		 17.8
(64.0)		 19.6
(67.3)		 19.0
(66.2)		 16.5
(61.7)		 16.8
(62.2)		 16.1
(61.0)		 18.0
(64.4)		 19.0
(66.2)		 16.6
(61.9)		 16.1
(61.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 257.1
(10.12)		 209.5
(8.25)		 228.8
(9.01)		 331.2
(13.04)		 381.5
(15.02)		 373.6
(14.71)		 385.4
(15.17)		 301.2
(11.86)		 241.0
(9.49)		 234.0
(9.21)		 219.0
(8.62)		 193.3
(7.61)		 3,355.6
(132.11)
Average rainy days 13 13 15 19 22 21 23 20 16 15 17 16 210
Mean monthly sunshine hours 139.2 106.7 125.1 113.1 106.4 100.6 110.2 129.8 131.5 127.9 121.8 120.4 1,432.7
Source: Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales[10]

References and notes
  1. (in Spanish) Colombian Registry of the Civil State: 2007 election results - Vaupés
  2. https://www.dane.gov.co/files/varios/informacion-capital-DANE-2019.pdf
  3. (in Spanish) Empresa telefonica de Bogota; Mitú Archived 2012-07-30 at archive.today
  4. Instituto Geografico Agustin Codazzi; Creation of Mitu
  5. El Tiempo.com Especial 10 Años
  6. "MÁS DE $1.600 MILLONES ENTRE TOMAS, RETOMAS Y DESPEJE". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 1998-11-05. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  7. "Colombian Troops Oust Rebels From State Capital". The New York Times. 1998-11-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  8. "Mitú fue el infierno". ELESPECTADOR.COM (in Spanish). 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  9. "4th hostage found in Colombian jungle". NBC News. June 14, 2010. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  10. "Climate of Mitu-Table of Values" (in Spanish). Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
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