Before launching into this disturbing analysis of indigenous leaders' homicides, I ask you to take a few minutes and watch the video of the funeral of this young man being buried in the mountains of Colombia. His name was Edwin Dagua Ipia; he was 25, a leader of the Nasa Tribe, and governor of Resguardo Indígena Huellas of the municipality of Caloto, in the Colombian department of Cauca.

Siembra de Sa't we'sx Edwin Dagua Ipia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1gan2DCqy8

Shameful that only three American news outlets have covered this; one was Democracy Now, another was Newsclick, and the thorough Dec. 20 Counterpunch article by Eric Draitser (how I learned of this). I have probed deeper into news coverage in Colombia, and have distilled for you several articles from Latin American news outlets which I translated into English. Also, there has been earlier coverage of these matters.

Please ask your Senators and your Congress member to convene some hearings to investigate this slaughter of indigenous leaders in Colombia and in Brazil. That is my humble request and our call to action.

These murders were compiled by the Washington Office on Latin America in an August 2018 article, and are listed at the end of my article today:

https://www.wola.org/2018/08/colombian-activists-killed/

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"Every head has a Price": Colombia pamphlet circulated with threat of death to indigenous leaders

(Coverage by Russian Television)

The Association of Indigenous Councils of North Cauca, in Colombia, denounced that paramilitary groups distribute pamphlets offering money in exchange for the murder of indigenous leaders.

"Everything that is lobbying will have its price, for each head there is value," reads the document that puts at risk the lives of governors, captains, coordinators, guards and indigenous sheriffs, warned a statement from the association.

On paper, they offer up to five million pesos (more than 1,553 dollars) for murdering the authorities, according to their position and responsibility in the communities of Cauca. The threat circulated on the same day that the leaders of the indigenous peoples toured the municipality of Caloto, in the north of Cauca, where last week they murdered the indigenous authority of the area, Edwin Dagua Ipia, 25 years old.

At the beginning of December, the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia reported that with the murder of Dagua, 36 indigenous leaders have already been assassinated, so far in the administration of the president, Iva'n Duque.

Who published the pamphlet?

The pamphlet is signed by the DC Águilas Negras Bloc, a paramilitary group that announces that the "clean-up time" began, and immediately offers weapons, training and money to those willing to kill the leaders, according to their hierarchy and their politics.

The Association of Indigenous Councils of the North rejected the threat of death and alerted the organisms of control and defense of Human Rights in Colombia.

"We are defenders of life and we will not let them keep snatching us," they said in the statement.

From 2006 to 2018 circulated more than 280 pamphlets signed by the Black Eagles threatening to kill not only indigenous authorities but peasant leaders in eight regions of Colombia, as reported by El Espectador.

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Meanwhile, the communications office of the Cric issued a message of rejection of the homicide, the second that is presented in less than 48 hours in this city in North Cauca:

"They will not silence us, their bullets will kill the body but the ideas, the conviction, the verraquera and the essence of Edwin Dagua Ipia and the Nasa people will follow more alive and stronger than ever. This young guard, liberator of Mother Earth and 'pinche comunero', as he humbly described himself, will continue to be present in each of our hearts. Today the cowards, the assassins, the policy of death of the State and their neoliberal model of extermination, took your life, but your seed will germinate and the young people will honor your name," reads the short statement sent to the journalists.

[click here]

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A Press release from the Nasa Tribe:

THE FORCE OF PEOPLES OVERCOMES DEATH The death of our authority Ne'jwe'sx, Edwin Dagua Ipia fills us with a deep pain. Further, the murder of Luis Neider Prado Medina, a 23-year-old resident of the San Francisco indigenous reservation of Natala', perpetrated in the vicinity of Palo municipality of Caloto. Also the death of Soledad Ramírez, Gladis Rivera, Henrry Ulcue' Finscue and more than 10 murders that took place in less than a week ...

https://www.aacin.org/tag/edwin-dagua-ipia/

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Over 7 social leaders assassinated in Colombia just in December

The rampant assassination of Colombia's social leaders continues with impunity.

Tanya Wadhwa, reporting for Newsclick 16 Dec 2018

In the face of these developments, social, political, indigenous and human rights organizations and activists across Colombia are demanding justice, a thorough investigation of the events that have taken place and an end to violence in Colombia.

After Awa' leaders Braulio Arturo García and Héctor Ramiro García were assassinated the community authorities held their funeral on the Panamerican highway to highlight the grave threats to the Indigenous communities in Colombia.

Indigenous leaders continue to be brutally targeted by state and paramilitary forces in Colombia. Many organizations estimate that over 400 social leaders have been assassinated since the Colombian government signed the Havana peace accords with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Last week, one peasant leader, one social leader, three indigenous leaders, two indigenous community representatives were assassinated and one indigenous leader suffered an assassination attempt.

Authorities also reported the death of a young social leader, Víctor Hernández Chávez, who suffered an attack in the village of El Tablón in Corinto. He, too, was shot in the head and died immediately.

On December 7, Edwin Dagua Ipia, a 25 year old indigenous leader and the governor of Indigenous Huellas reservation in the Caloto municipality, Cauca Department, was also assassinated on the sidewalks of La Buitrera in Caloto. He reported receiving death threats but was not given any kind of protection.

The same day, also in the municipality of Caloto, another community representative and a resident of San Francisco reservation, Luis Neider Prado Medina was also gunned down.

On the early morning of December 8, Lidia Gomez, an indigenous leader of the Awa' community and the governor of Santa Clara reservation in the Ricaurte municipality in Nariño Department was attacked by armed men. She was working at her home when the armed men fired at her multiple times. Fortunately the governor escaped the deadly attack and was unharmed. Four days ago, Gómez had demanded guarantees in a security council for her people, following the murder of two of her companions, Hector Ramiro García and his son Braulio Arturo García.

Edison de Jesus Naranjo Navarro, the son-in-law of the governor of Cañamomo Lomaprienta reserve, was murdered on December 4 in the municipality of Riosucio, in the Caldas Department. Naranjo was 41 years old and had already received death threats. He was a peasant and was also serving as an indigenous guard.

On December 2, He'ctor Ramiro García and his son Arturo García of Awa' indigenous community were shot and killed by heavily armed men in the municipality of Ricaurte, Nariño. He'ctor was the leader and founder of Camawari organization and Arturo García was elected as the governor of the Palmar Imbi reserve for the year 2019.

The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) announced that since August 7, under the governance of President Iva'n Duque, the attacks against indigenous people have aggravated. According to the statistics of the ONIC, 36 indigenous leaders have been killed, 61 threatened, 20 attacked and 1 injured so far. The ONIC laments and condemns this strategy of extermination of the indigenous people of Colombia.

The human rights organizations pointed out that one of the factors that has increased the risk for social leaders is "the negation tendency of the state", referring to the insistence on not recognizing that paramilitarism persists, or the systematic nature of the murders. This tendency is "hindering the advancement of justice."

click here

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Family members attribute the murder of a Colombian indigenous leader to drug trafficking

The relatives of Edwin Dagua Ipia attributed his murder to sectors linked to drug trafficking in that part of the country.

This is how Diego Dagua expressed it during the burial of his brother, a ceremony accompanied by hundreds of people from the community who rejected the violence that affects them.

The indigenous governor was murdered last Friday by strangers in the La Buitrera hamlet, according to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC).

Dagua explained that his brother was part of a "work front" against the coca growers, marijuana, consumers and sellers of these illicit drugs.

"We consider that the threats and the facts come from that sector," the indigenous person told Efe, adding that they knew about the death threats because his brother had mentioned them to relatives.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia condemned the murder of Dagua and recalled that "Edwin came from the indigenous youth movement."

According to official figures, 343 social leaders have been murdered in Colombia in the last two years, a figure that varies according to sources and has generated complaints that there is a systematic pattern in homicides.

click here

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Killing Fields of Colombia and Brazil

by ERIC DRAITSER, DECEMBER 20, 2018

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/12/20/colombias-killing-fields/

In Colombia, the last week has been a particularly bloody one for indigenous leaders. In the state of Cauca, just south of the major city of Calí, the indigenous governor Edwin Dagua Ipia was assassinated after having received numerous death threats from paramilitaries in the area. He is one of at least ten indigenous people murdered in the country just in the last week.

In fact, according to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), more than 100 assassinations of human rights advocates and members of marginalized and oppressed communities have taken place just in 2018. There is a sense among observers that the killings have escalated since the election of Ivan Duque, the young right wing president and close ally of former president and international criminal Alvaro Uribe.

In a damning report published by the Consultancy on Human Rights and Displacement (CODHES), the human rights NGO noted that 35% of the social leaders and activists murdered belonged to ethnic minorities (19% Afro-Colombian, 15% indigenous), a staggering figure which demonstrates just how targeted those groups are, considering the proportion of violence with which they're targeted versus their total share of the national population. Moreover, CODHES indicated that:

"Approximately 50 percent of the victims were authorities or representatives of ethnic territories and organizations. Another 36 percent were community or union leaders, 8 percent land rights claimants and 6 percent are members of the family of women social leaders. The worst affected regions in order of total numbers were Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Antioquia, Chocó, and Córdoba."

The continued killings have drawn the attention of the United Nations, though little has been done to stem the tide, particularly as the government of Ivan Duque has slithered into power. Luis Guillermo Pe'rez Casas, a lawyer with the Colectivo de Abogados Jose' Alvear Restrepo (CCAJAR), explained in a report jointly submitted with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, that the killings, and total impunity due to government inaction, rise to the level of crimes against humanity.

He told the Guardian that:

"The murders of our colleagues must stop"We hope the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC will warn the Colombian government that if the impunity persists, they will be forced to open an investigation into those responsible, at the highest level" The peace process is failing because there's a lack of implementation of the agreement. The process that was agreed upon has not been delivered.""

International human rights organizations have also raised the alarm about the violence and assassinations in Colombia. In early 2018, after the killing of 10 human rights activists, Amnesty International issued a report which called on the Colombian government to protect at-risk activists, especially those in remote parts of the country, who face extraordinary risks from paramilitaries and contract killers. Similarly, Human Rights Watch called on the Colombian government to do more to protect activists after a very bloody 2016. Sadly, the situation has only gotten worse.

Brazil's War on Activists

The election of the fascist Jair Bolsonaro, the man who as candidate promised to open up the Amazon to mining and other environmentally harmful, extractive industries, has sent a very dangerous signal to indigenous and peasant groups in Brazil that the impunity that has long existed will only expand further while their rights are curtailed.

Bolsonaro represents a unique threat to activists from all spheres, especially indigenous and peasant communities who stand in the way of the right wing goal of stripping land rights from those groups in the

interests of corporate investors and international financiers. And unlike the somewhat more muted (though no less destructive) rhetoric from the traditional neoliberal right, Bolsonaro and his far right, fascist politics will likely escalate the war on oppressed groups from simmering to white hot.

Speaking of the potential impact of Bolsonaro on the already ghastly violence against activists, Brazil-based independent journalist Michael Fox explained to me that:

"It's still very early to tell the effect his election has had. Violence spiked in the lead-up to the second round vote, but there has been a lull since the election while people regroup The recent killing of [two] Landless Workers' Movement (MST) leaders was very likely a sign of things to come."

Fox's analysis, which is no doubt accurate, reflects the general sense of anxiety about the future, especially in the wake of the most recent assassinations which he referenced.

On the night of December 8, 2018 two leaders of the Landless Workers' Movement (MST) were assassinated in the state of Paraiba in the Northeast of the country. Their deaths, in an area regarded as a traditional stronghold of the left, have left many asking just what the future holds for activists in Brazil.

The assassinations are certainly not the first high-profile killings of social movement activists in Brazil in recent years, though they have received some added attention given that they come on the heels of the Bolsonaro victory - a worrying signal for some that the horrendous violence is only going to escalate.

To put it in perspective, the Brazilian religious advocacy group Comissão Pastoral da Terra - CPT (Pastoral Land Commission) released a thorough report which found that:

The brutal reality of Brazil's rural areas has become increasingly harsher since 2013, back when 34 murders were recorded. In four years, these figures have increased by 105%, reaching 70 executions in 2017 - a 15% increase over 2016.

It should be noted that, of course, this shocking rise in volence cannot be attributed to Bolsonaro himself, but rather to deeper structural and economic factors, in particular corproate privatization. As CPT coordinator Ruben Siqueira explained to Brasil de Fato:

We see this as a new land rush, in which land is a means of production, a store of value, like wood, water, ore, agribusiness, expansion of land-based businesses. This has to do with the financial crisis that started in 2008 with the speculative bubble. Since then, the hegemonic capitalist sector, which is financial capital, is looking for backing, something that can support this international speculative game.

Indeed, it seems the escalation of violence against indigenous and peasant activists is directly connected to the growing need for consolidation of land and natural resources resulting from the econmoic downturn of the last ten years. However, it is perhaps even more precise to pinpoint the drop in commodity prices, most conspicuously the collapse of oil prices in 2014-2015, as one of the primary drivers of this renewed push for capital accumulation.

And though this process was jump=started during the tenure of Dilma Rousseff and the Workers' Party (PT), it has picked up momentum under the right wing Temer government. And it's about to go into overdrive with Bolsonaro taking power. For it is Bolsonaro himself who has promised to open up as much protected land as possible to big business.

Indeed, within days of Bolsonaro's victory, reports began to circulate that indigenous lands were being invaded and/or seized, with all the attendant violence one would expect. As Beto Marubo, a native leader from the Javari Valley Indigenous Land in Brazil's far west, explained to National Geographic, "Many brothers tell us there are invasions, people entering the territories with no regard for the rules and no fear of the authorities." This final point is critical because while impunity has long been the norm in Brazil, the utter disregard for any semblance of governmental or law enforcement oversight will likely increase underr Bolsoanro who has all but given his blessing to displacement and violence against these groups.

Ultimately, the struggle is about land rights, especially for the indigenous peoples who have fought for official demarcation of lands for decades.

Dinamã Tuxa', Coordinator of Brazil's Association of Indigenous Peoples (APIB) summed it up neatly:

This scenario is totally heartbreaking. Bolsonaro has made clear and consistent declarations about ending the titling of indigenous lands, which are completely opposed to our rights. His racist, homophobic, misogynist, fascist discourse shows how Brazilian politics will be in the coming years" His discourse gives those who live around indigenous lands the right to practice violence without any sort of accountability. Those who invade indigenous lands and kill our people will be esteemed. He represents an institutionalization of genocide in Brazil.

Of course it must be remembered that Afro-Brazilian communities will be targeted as well. Marielle Franco's assassination in March 2018 was in many ways a watershed moment for the social movements in the country. However, rather than driving positive political change on the national level, Brazil has instead elected a fascist leader who praises the extrajudicial methods historically employed by the dictatorship and its enablers in the country. It remains to be seen how the left can regroup, respond, and reestablish its political power.

One thing is certain in both Brazil and Colombia: the far right is in power, and that means the war on social movements and activists is only just getting started.

And while it may seem bleak as we read about seemingly daily atrocities visited upon the indigenous and poor of these (and other Latin American) countries, we cannot simply despair. Instead, we must organize and mobilize. For those of us in the Global North, that means doing what we can to be in solidarity with these activists, helping to build power internationally.

Duque, Bolsonaro, and the far right of Latin America may have ascended to power, but they are not omnipotent.

Now is the time for organizing; the time for struggle; the time for resistance.

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Colombia: Indigenous Governor Killed Amid Mounting Violence

DEC 10, 2018

click here

In Colombia, an indigenous governor from the southwestern department of Cauca was killed last week. Edwin Dagua Ipia had received death threats from paramilitary groups prior to his murder. A local human rights group reported 10 indigenous people have been murdered in Colombia in a span of just eight days. Another indigenous governor in a neighboring area was attacked Saturday but survived. Local leaders are calling out the far-right government of Iva'n Duque for the spike in murders and a failure to protect indigenous leaders.

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Indigenous Leader Assassinated in Colombia

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Colombia, Dec 8 (Prensa Latina) The indigenous communities of the department of Cauca, region of the Colombian Pacific, denounced on Saturday the assassination of the governor of Huellas, Edwin Dagua Ipia, one of the main leaders of the Nasa people.

The victim was one of the six authorities that make up the Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca (ACIN in Spanish) and had received multiple death threats.

'It is one of the hardest blows that communities face in recent days, in a municipality in which in less than eight days there has been 10 homicides,' ACIN denounced.

A statement sent to the press and quoted by the local newspaper El Colombiano said that Dagua Ipia was characterized as 'a young guard, liberator of the mother earth and community leader, known by his

humility.'

The native leader was attacked with gunfire by unknown individuals.

Last weekend, two other leaders of the indigenous peoples of Colombia were murdered, in these cases from the Awa people, based in the department of Nariño, located in the southwestern corner of Colombia, bordering Ecuador.

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From an August 2018 article published by the Washington Office on Latin America:

So far this year, WOLA has registered at least 75 assassinations of Colombia human rights leaders or members of vulnerable ethnic communities in the country. Below is a list of the incidents that have occurred since our last monthly update. Together, we stand with our partners in Colombia in calling for justice.

Today we write you to ask that you intervene in the following human rights situations:

Nasa Indigenous Leader Killed Despite Having Protection Measures (Nariño)

On August 19, Nasa indigenous leader Holmes Alberto Niscue, who was accompanying the Awa' indigenous community's struggle in the Awa' of Gran Rosario Indigenous Reservation in Tumaco was murdered in front of his home. According to the National Organization of Indigenous Colombians (Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia, ONIC) Holmes was under threat due to his advocacy for some time now and he was the recipient of protection measures by the National Protection Unit (Unidad de Protección Nacional, UNDP). Local sources indicate that he was assassinated via three gunshots in the head just 200 meters from the Police Station in the Guayacan" area. Given Holmes' profile in the Awa' human rights effort, this is a major blow. He leaves behind a widow and several children.

Afro-Colombian Leader Assassinated in Turbo (Antioquia)

Hired gunmen took the life of Luis Alberto Rivas Gomez in Turbo on August 18. Luis worked with the Afro-Colombian traditional authorities (ANAFRO) and the Black Communities Process (PCN), two groups that form part of the Afro-Colombian Peace Council (CONPA) and the Ethnic Commission. He was an avid defender of natural resources found in Afrodescendant collective lands and worked to construct a more just world for Afro-Colombians.

Threatened Indigenous Leader Murdered (Cauca)

On August 10, ONIC reported the murder of leader Emiliano Trochez Yonda. He was shot close to his home in the Guadualito indigenous reserve in Santander de Quilichao, Cauca. The leader was threatened before, showing that the threats made against these authorities effectively materialize into murders and that the situation for indigenous leaders is worsening in the post-conflict era. Also in Cauca, in Miranda municipality, two male corpses containing bullet wounds were found this week. Their identities are yet to be revealed.

Environmental Leader Murdered (Caqueta')

On July 30, Raúl Buitrago was shot eight times by unknown men. LaFMreported that Raúl was killed as he made his way home Inspección de Fraguita, Caqueta'.  Raul was the head of the Environmental Commission of the Fragua Portal Association (Asociación Portales del Fragua) and the Coffee Grower Organization of San Jose' del Fragua (Asociación de Cafeteros del municipio de San Jose' del Fragua). The local Ombudsman (Personero) for San Jose' del Fragua reports there are three other civil society leaders under threat.

Paramilitary Whistleblower Murdered in Antioquia

On August 4, El Espectador reported the murder of Julio Valencia, who had previously warned local Ombudsman (Personero) Fredy Armando Uron Freytter about an assassination plan against him by the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia, AGC). Valencia's warning caused Fredy to be displaced as police could not guarantee his protection in Murindó, Antioquia. Fredy had been threatened since he reported the presence of 150 armed AGC men in his municipality on July 7.

Human Rights Groups Call for Action in Southwest Colombia (Valle del Cauca)

On August 11, the Association for Social Research and Action (Asociación para la Investigación y Acción Social, NOMADESC), the Intercultural University of the People (La Universidad Intercultural de los Pueblos), the Black Communities Process (Proceso de Comunidades Negras, PCN), the Movement of Victims of State-Sponsored Crimes (Movimiento de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado, MOVICE), the National Union of Workers and University Employees of Colombia (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores y Empleados Universitarios de Colombia, SINTRAUNICOL), and the Congress of the People (Congreso de los Pueblos) sent a letter to President Iva'n Duque calling on him to address the human rights crisis occurring in the Southwest of Colombia.

According to rights groups, 123 social leaders have been assassinated between January 1, 2018 and July 5, 2018. The statement highlights that 40% of the criminal acts against social leaders in the last 30 months have occurred in Southwestern Colombia. On August 9, a menacing letter from the Black Eagle Paramilitary group was sent to 10 different social organizations and 21 social leaders promising the continued counteraction against social leaders who oppose the political vision of Iva'n Duque. One day later indigenous leader and coordinator of the Guadualito Guard Emiliano Trochez Yonda Camayo of Northern Cauca was murdered (see above). That same day, telephone threats were made to Magaly Pino, a social leader associated with the National Agricultural Coordinator (Coordinador Nacional Agrario, CNA) and the Congress of the People. These threats were right after Pino participated in the Human Rights Forum organized by the Ministry of the Interior and the Valle Governorship.

Indigenous Teenager Suffers Serious Injuries after Explosion (Cauca)

On July 28, the ONIC reported that 17 year-old Ana Yamilet Yule Rivera was seriously injured and hospitalized after an explosion in her farm in Jambaló, Cauca. The Jambaló indigenous is subjected to threats, killings, and anti-personnel landmines.

Armed Men Roam at Large in Embera Chami Indigenous Reserve (Risaralda)

Since July 9, hooded, armed men in motorbikes have stalked and threated individuals in the Embera Chami reserve located in Pueblo Rico, Risaralda. The ONIC reported the men were inquiring about the whereabouts of already threatened leaders Raúl Guasiruma Nacabera, Rodrigo Nacavera Guaciruma Martín Sia'gama Gutie'rrez, and Luis Albeiro Onógama Guasiruma. The Black Eagle Paramilitary group is suspected of the threats due to their increased activity in the area. All though the UNP has given the leaders a security detail, a cellular phone, and a bullet proof vest, these measures have proved insufficient and disarticulated from the territorial and cultural reality of indigenous leaders. The ONIC is calling for collective protection measures and security details that are familiarized with the territory and community.

Threats to Afro-Colombian Leaders Involved in Peace Implementation (Cauca)

On August 9, the Afro-Colombian Association of Community Councils of Northern Cauca (Asociación de Consejos Comunitarios del Norte del Cauca) reported that leaders and human rights defenders Luis Alfredo Bonilla, Gary Escobar, and Roassana Mejía Caicedo, received a death threat for their involvement in the implementation of the peace accord. The leaders woke up at 3:57am to a text that condemned their life because of their active participation in land restitution efforts, the planning of the Territorial Development Plans, and other projects under the accord's framework.

COCCAM Substitution Leader Displaced Due to Death Threats (Caqueta')

On July 12, the National Coordinator of Coca, Poppy, and Marijuana Cultivators (Coordinadora Nacional de Cultivadores de Coca, Amapola y Marijuana, COCCAM) reported that recurring death threats aimed at Balvino Polo Hurtado forced him out of his home. Balvino is a member of the COCCAM political national commission and an ardent supporter of the National Program for Integral Substitution (Programa Nacional Integral de Sustitución, PNIS). On January 27, an unknown person aggressively approached Balvino's vehicle and warned him not to go back to his house in Montañita. Two months later he returned to his house where he received a call reminding him that he was told not to return. On July 12, he was threatened and told to quit the PNIS or be declared a military target. Due to the recurring death threats, Balvino has not returned home and continues to live separated from his family.

Union Leader Threatened in Cartagena (Bolivar)

On July 16, the Secretary General of the Biofilm Workers Union (El Sindicato de Trabajadores de Biofilm, SINTRABIOFILM), Daniel T. Polo Lidueña received death threats via several WhatsApp messages. Lidueña was told that if he wanted war then he would receive it. The messages went on to threaten Lidueña and his family. The unidentified messenger made allusions to Lidueña's family, hoping to intimidate him, and warned him that he could be disappeared. At that point Lidueña decided to block the number and report it to the authorities. SINTRABIOFILM has been the target of various threats over the years and has been included on several lists of highest-risk unions in the Department of Bolivar.

Security Situation Deteriorating for Afro-Colombian Leaders in the Pacific Coast (Cauca)

On August 6, the Coordinator for Community Councils and Organizations of the Black Cauca Pacific Coast (Coordinación de Consejos Comunitarios y Organizaciones de Base del Pueblo Negro de la Costa Pacífica del Cauca, COCOCAUCA) emitted a press release denouncing the mounting death threats received by its members and leadership during June and July. An assassination attempt on one of its leaders and multiple letters from the Black Eagles have frightened COCOCAUCA leaders and their families. A majority of them have been declared "military targets" unless they leave their homes and communities.

Rural Farmer Leaders and Community Received Paramilitary Death Threat (Magdalena)

On July 16, the Colombian Association of Rural Farmers (Asociación Campesina de Colombia, ASOGRAS) reported that Cesar Augusto Tamayo, President of ASOGRAS, Victor Manuel Garcia Carvajalino, Secretary General of ASOGRAS, and other members of ASOGRAS where given 48 hours to leave their communities or be murdered instead. The letter circulated by the Black Eagles also warns they will conduct a purge of human rights defenders and petty criminals in the region. The ASOGRAS leaders are threatened for participating in the implementation of the peace agreement with the FARC, as well as supporting candidate Gustavo Petro in the past presidential elections.

Indigenous Leader and Teacher Threatened in Valle del Cauca

On July 25 the ONIC reported that social leader and teacher Odílmer de Jesús Gutie'rrez of the Embera Chamí community in Bolívar, Valle del Cauca, received a death threat in the form of a letter delivered to his home. The death threat orders him to leave the municipality within eight day or be murdered. Traditional indigenous protection measures are in place while the leader awaits a decision on his threat level as determined by the UNP, which could decide to grant him further protection.

Naya Massacre Survivor and Indigenous Leader Threatened (Cauca)

On July 7, the ONIC reported that indigenous leader Enrique Fernandez Dagua received multiple death threats which accused him of being a guerilla member and a communist. On February 19, a mail bomb was delivered to his door step before being carefully diffused by the local authorities. Enrique is also a survivor of the 2001 Naya Massacres committed the AUC paramilitaries.

WOLA Human Rights Prize Recipient Followed in Bogota' (Bolivar)

On August 14, members of the UNP reported that human rights defender Danilo Rueda of the Inter-Ecclesial Commission for Human Rights (Justicia y Paz) was followed by two unidentified men riding a motorcycle. The men followed Danilo until UNP agents began to pursue them. The men quickly turned off the street and the motorcycle license plate could not be read. This is the third time this year Danilo was followed or taken hostage.

Death Threats Cause 110 Social Leaders in Antioquia to Resign from Jobs (Antioquia)

An August 14, Contagio Radio reported that consistent death threats play a large cause in the increase in social leaders and human rights defenders resigning from their jobs. According to Oscar Zapata of the Colombia-Europe-United States Coordination (Coordinación Colombia-Europa-Estados Unidos, CCEEU), there has been a 190 percent increase of selective assassinations in the Bajo Cauca. Concerns among residents in Antioquia are growing as the Department now finds itself second only to Cauca on the list of Departments with the most social leaders assassinated.

National Union School Finds Infiltrated Bodyguard to be a Part of Hitmen Gang (Medellin)

On July 31, the National Union School (Escuela Nacional Sindical, ENS) reported that multiple thefts to their campus were linked to a gang of hit men dismantled to the police. Among the members of the gang they found a former bodyguard for the ENS director Carlos Julio Díaz Lotero. The assailants knew the security schedules and the location of security cameras. The UNP hired the man through a third-party agency, neither have responded to the allegations of the ENS.

Controversial Police Intervention in Union Protest (Atla'ntico)

According to the Central Coordinating Body of Workers (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores, CUT) unionized Bavaria workers were pacifically protesting labor conditions in Barranquilla when the police barged in and intimidated the protesters. The purpose of the protest was to demand that workers' collective bargaining rights are respected. The CUT is asking that Colombian judicial authorities investigate the actions taken by Rafael Villamizar of the National Police.

(compiled by WOLA

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