Join us for IRTF's annual human rights banquet with our special guest from CRIPDES in El Salvador. Ticket and info soon!
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Colombia: News & Updates
Colombia has the world's second largest population of internally displaced persons (five million) due to the half-century internal armed conflict—the longest-running war in the Western Hemisphere (since 1964). Control for territory and popular support among the three main groups (left-wing rebel forces FARC & ELN, right-wing paramilitaries, Colombian police/military) has left 220,000 killed, 75% of them non-combatants. Since 2000, the US has exacerbated the violence by sending more than $9 billion in mostly military assistance. Colombia, which has both Pacific and Atlantic coastlines, holds strategic interest for the US for global trade and military posturing.
Learn more here.
News Article
August 15, 2024
Cañaverales, a town in Colombia’s northern province of La Guajira, has become the first beneficiary of a new government program protecting campesino communities from industrial development. On July 5, 2024, Colombia's Ministry of Agriculture declared Cañaverales a Protected Area for Food Production (APPA), safeguarding 80,000 hectares from coal mining and prioritizing agriculture. This victory follows decades of activism by Afro-Colombian, campesino, and Indigenous communities fighting against environmental degradation caused by large-scale mining.
Despite this progress, the future remains uncertain as corporate power, particularly from companies like the Turkish Best Coal Company, threatens to override these protections. The community's struggle reflects the broader challenges of balancing environmental protection with economic interests under the Petro-Márquez administration, which, despite its focus on rural development and food security, continues to face opposition from business interests and the extractive industry. The people of Cañaverales remain committed to resisting mining and protecting their land, but the threat of corporate influence and legal challenges looms large.
News Article
August 15, 2024
In this monthly newsletter, please read about : 1) ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends, 2) US Government Policy: Some legislators and DHS trying to do more to offer humanitarian relief to migrants, 3) Migration Impacts on Women, 4) At the Border, 5) Beyond Borders: Health and Safety in the Age of Migration in Mexico, 6) Changing Demographics: Migrants to the US Come from Different Corners of the Globe, 7) Danger in the Darién Gap: Human rights abuses and the need for human pathways to safety, 8) Texas Gets Tough on Migrants, 9) Economic Benefits of Immigration – both documented and undocumented migrants, 10) Biden Can Claim Record Numbers of Removals.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Here is what you can do to take action this week and act in solidarity with migrants and their families. (See details at the bottom of this newsletter.)
A) Join a Solidarity Delegation to Southern Mexico: November 11-16, 2024
B) Stop Criminalizing Migrants Traveling through the Darién Gap
C) Volunteer to Assistant Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland: Catholic Charities
D) Volunteer to Assistant Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland: NEO Friends of Immigrants
E) Get Paid to Assist Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland
F) Act Now for Welcoming, Dignified, and Just Immigration
Read the full IRTF Migrant Justice Newsletter each month at https://www.irtfcleveland.org/blog
News Article
August 8, 2024
Two years into President Gustavo Petro’s administration, Total Peace, the Colombian government’s flagship policy to end the country’s civil conflict, analysis suggests that criminal groups have grown in strength while peace remains a distant prospect.
RRN Letter
August 5, 2024
Living and working in a rural hamlet called La Gabarra, young community journalist Jorge Méndez, known as “Yeiko the leader,” had 650,000 followers on Facebook. Because his home region along the Venezuelan border had such a negative public image due to years of armed violence, Jorge started the page "La Gabarra con una imagen diferente," with content that was positive and favorable to the region.
In a country dangerous for social leaders and journalists, Jorge Méndez sadly became another victim. On the morning of June 27, Jorge was traveling along a road in a rural zone of Tibú, Norte de Santander Department. Local residents later found his car abandoned and alerted the police. They began a search and found his body with multiple bullet wounds and signs of torture.
After learning of his assassination, a social leader from La Gabarra commented: “He was a young dreamer, a young man who wanted to show a different image of La Gabarra, show its resilience, show the beautiful things, its people, its landscapes, its nature, he sought to remove that stigmatization of La Gabarra, which for many years [from] the outside looked like that image of violence that has plagued it for years…”
Jorge Méndez, ¡presente!
RRN Letter
August 1, 2024
Because of his bold leadership in protecting the Wayuu people, Javier Rojas Uriana has suffered many reprisals: assassination attempts, death threats, slander, and trumped-up legal charges. For more than a decade, Javier Rojas Uriana has denounced the humanitarian crisis facing the Wayúu people, the largest Indigenous community in Colombia. Where they live in La Guajira, the department with the highest prevalence of food insecurity, extreme climate phenomena have been causing droughts and heatwaves, affecting food staples such as rice and corn. Their economy—based on artisanal fishing, sheep and goat breeding, and handicraft production—has been disrupted. Child malnutrition is reaching alarming levels.
On July 2 while he was in Valledupar, the capital city of Cesar Department, Javier Rojas Uriana suffered an assassination attempt when assailants targeted him with an explosive device. Fortunately, he was not injured in the vicious attack. We are urging that the National Protection Unit (UNP) review and reinforce its protection measures for Javier Rojas Uriana and his family, in strict accordance with their wishes.
News Article
July 31, 2024
On July 31, 2024, US Representatives Greg Casar (D-TX), McGovern (D-MA), Johnson (D-GA), Pocan (D-WI), Schakowsky (D-IL), and DeLauro (D-CT), joined by 40 other congressional representatives, published a letter calling for strengthened U.S. support in the Colombian peace process. The letter urges President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to:
1) appoint a U.S special envoy to the peace talks in Colombia
2) reverse the Trump Administration’s decision to designate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism (SSOT), an erroneous label they received for acting as guarantors for the Colombian peace process (Norway, the other guarantor, is notably not marked as an SSOT country).
“The U.S. has a vested interest in ensuring Colombia's peace process is successful,” wrote the Members. “President Gustavo Petro has attempted to address the continued violence by strengthening Colombia’s commitment to the peace process through his ‘Total Peace’ plan… [The] Administration has an opportunity to help achieve a lasting peace in Colombia through the appointment of a new special envoy, [which] will signal the U.S.'s continued commitment to the peace process in Colombia and provide the plan with renewed momentum.”
News Article
July 17, 2024
The United States has long been a destination of migrants from around the world seeking safety and new opportunities. The image of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty welcoming “the poor huddled masses” is ingrained in our collective memory and culture.
Yes, there are many coming to our southern border seeking safety. Many of those come from countries whose people have been negatively impacted by US economic and military policies. They come here because we went there.
While the US was the world’s largest recipient of new asylum applications in 2023 (1.2 million), it is desperately trying to deter migrants from seeking refuge here. On June 4, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new plans to “secure our border.” It bars migrants from even asking for asylum. The unwelcoming attitude that the US presents toward migrants is illustrated not only by Biden’s recent asylum ban and the monthly increase in US migrant detention, now standing at 38,525.
In IRTF’s July 2024 Migrant Justice newsletter, please read about (1) Asylum Processing at the US-Mexico Border, (2) ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends, (3) Migrants in Colombia: Between Government Absence and Criminal Control, (4) At the Border: Recent Incidents at and around the US-Mexico Border, (5) Honduras plans to build a 20,000-capacity ‘megaprison’ for gang members as part of a crackdown, (6) Thousands of displaced residents in southern Mexico fear returning to their homes after violence, (7) Danger in the Darién Gap: Human Rights Abuses and the Need for Humane Pathways to Safety, (8) America Turned Against Migrant Detention Before. We Can Do It Again, (9) Asylum claims are down over 40% in Mexico, and (10) UN Refugee Agency Global Trends Report 2023.
Then take a few minutes to read what you can do to take action this week in solidarity with migrants and their families. (See details at the bottom of this newsletter.)
A) Act Now for welcoming, dignified and just immigration policies
B) Root Causes: Stop Deportation Flights to Haiti
C) Root Causes: Restore Asylum for LGBTQ+ Refugees in Danger
D) Think Globally. Act Locally: Help Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland
Read the full newsletter at https://www.irtfcleveland.org/blog/migrant-justice-newsletter-jul-2024
RRN Letter
July 14, 2024
We are deeply saddened to learn of the assassination Yoli María Toloza Cardoza, who served on the coordinating team of the Popular Women's Organization (OFP) in Puerto Wilches, Santander Department. On June 27 at 11:00 a.m., two armed men traveling on a motorcycle entered her home in Puerto Wilches. Without saying a word they shot her in the forehead.
The 52-year-old grew up there and became well-known and respected throughout Puerto Wilches and the Magdalena Medio region because of her ccommitment to advancing women's rights. Her home is located directly in front of the headquarters of the regional OFP chapter, where she also maintained a clothing workshop. The fact that Yoli María Toloza Cardoza was murdered in her own home so close to the OFP office underscores the danger faced by those advocating for justice and equality in the Magdalena Medio region.
OFP is a close partner of CPT(Community Peacemaker Teams) in Colombia’s Magdalena Medio region; CPT is a close partner of IRTF Cleveland. We extend our profound condolences to the members of OFP and CPT-Colombia.
RRN Letter
July 13, 2024
We are deeply concerned for the safety of Indigenous elders who steward ancestral, regional, and social wisdom. On the morning of June 25, Nasa Indigenous ancestral scholar Luis Eduardo Vivas was shot five times at the Mosoco reservation (Resguardo Indígena Mosoco), north of the municipality of Páez, Cauca Department. A note was found with his body that read "every witch is cleansed."
The assassination of Luis Eduardo Vivas puts the wisdom, worldview, spirituality and territoriality of Indigenous peoples at risk. Ancestral knowers (sabedores ancestrales) are the guardians of this ancestral knowledge; their persecution threatens the disappearance of practices and knowledge that have been transmitted from generation to generation. The targeting of violence against ancestral knowers generates a crisis in the knowledge of biodiversity and medicinal plants. There is a great need for cooperation among the State, Indigenous organizations, and civil society groups to ensure that the rights, customs, and critical knowledge of Indigenous peoples are protected and respected.
