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Ecopetrol: Whistleblower reveals Colombia oil giant's ‘awful’ pollution

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Whistleblower reveals Colombian energy giant Ecopetrol has polluted hundreds of sites with oil.

The company's main refinery is in Barrancabermeja , 260km ( 162 miles ) north of the Colombian capital Bogota .

The site stretches for close to 2km ( 1.2 miles ) along the banks of Colombia 's longest river.

Ecopetrol says it has records of 839 environmental incidents, but disputes that all of them were classed as "unresolved" The firm says 95% of polluted sites have been cleaned up.

The data includes hundreds of spills in the Barrancabermeja area where fishers live.

The company paid $ 65 m to more than 2,800 private security companies in 2018 .

Mr Bayón stressed the economic and social importance of Ecopetrol to Colombia .

"We have 1.5 million families who don't have access to energy or who cook with firewood and coal," he said.

And Ms Velásquez remains determined to continue speaking out, despite the threats.