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.
IRTF’s sister organization in Chicago (Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America) is organizing an election observer delegation to Colombia for the end of May 2026. Please consider applying for this delegation.
May 24–June 1, 2026, during the country’s general elections on May 31.
See the information and application here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSelym2HM5T7u2vCbeGmzC1rYFaexLWH9ERMUgGSaDV6WguTzw/viewform?pli=1
this article presents 25 year old enviromental activist Yuvelis, who won the Goldman prize for opposing Fracking in her hometown of Puerto Wilches.
Support a historic shift in U.S. foreign policy. House Resolution 1056 calls for ending the Monroe Doctrine and building a “New Good Neighbor” relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean. Urge your US representative to co-sponsor this landmark resolution acknowledging two centuries of intervention and injustice.
On the 60th anniversary of his death, Colombia finally recovered and returned the remains of priest, sociologist, and guerrilla fighter Camilo Torres Restrepo, ending a six-decade disappearance that began with his killing by the Army in 1966. His reburial at the National University crowns a long struggle led by social movements and human rights advocates, turning his case into a powerful symbol of the country’s broader fight for truth, memory, and justice for the disappeared.
When he was repatriated to Colombia, Salvatore Mancuso was named a “peace facilitator” by Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, a designation that enables him to act as a mediator in talks with armed groups.
Now the former paramilitary leader has been sentencedto 40 years in prison for crimes committed against Indigenous communities in the province of La Guajira, including homicides, forced disappearances and the displacement of people from 2002 to 2006.
Do you and your neighbors and co-workers know what to do if visited, questioned, or arrested by ICE? Do you know you can call the Ohio Immigration Hotline 419-777-HELP (4357) ? There’s also the Ohio National Lawyers Guild Hotline: (614) 654-6477
You can stay up-to-date every day on ICE activities, trends in apprehensions and detentions by following Austin Kocher on Substack https://substack.com/@austinkocher/posts
In northeast Ohio, you can reach out to irtf@irtfcleveland.org for educational resources and trainings for your workplace, congregation, or community group.
Afro-descendant and Indigenous communities are at constant risk of forced displacement in the Pacific coastal department of Valle del Cauca as armed group vie for social, territorial and resource control.
The families of the Indigenous Wounann community of the Santa Rosa de Guayacán Biodiversity and Humanitarian Reserve in the Lower Calima River region of Buenaventura have been forcibly displaced four times over the past two decades. Their traditional livelihoods—based on fishing, hunting, and agriculture—have been disrupted because of repeated incursions by paramilitaries, guerrilla rebel groups, and military forces. After their last displacement in November 2021, the national government finally gave them the green light to return in December 2023. But because of state neglect, the 30 families who make up the community have suffered from waterborne illnesses and food crises. Now they face another imminent forced displacement.
On November 15, six armed men dressed in black (who did not identify themselves) stormed into the community and started going through people’s homes. They began asking who the main leaders were, where they lived, how many young people were in the community, and what they did for a living. Although they remained for just an hour, the incursion left the families in a state of tension, fear, and anxiety in the face of a potential new displacement.
The Indigenous reserve is demarcated and clearly marked with fences indicating the prohibition of entry for armed individuals. We are urging that the government consult with residents of the Wounaan community to devise better mechanisms to implement precautionary measures issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to protect their lives and freedom of movement.
One of the significant outcomes of the Peace Accords in 2016 was the installation of the JEP (Special Jurisdiction for Peace), which is a justice component of the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition (SIVJRNR). The JEP functions to investigate, prosecute, and punish the most serious crimes related to the armed conflict that occurred before December 1, 2016, seeking to prioritize victims, clarify the truth, and repair the damage. One of the key partners in the work of the JEP is the civil society organization CSPP (Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners).
Active in the Atlántico Department chapter of CSPP was 27-year-old Nilson de Arco. In July 2025, as he was meeting in a public space with three other human rights defenders to make a recording, a man on a motorcycle approached them. He got down from his motorcycle and shot Nilson de Arco directly. Nilson was rushed to the hospital. After four months of specialized medical attention, he succumbed to his injuries on November 14.
The fatal attack on Nilson de Arco must be considered in the context of the increasing number of threats, harassment, and violence perpetrated against human rights defenders in Colombia. We urge the government to take the necessary measures to ensure that human rights defenders, community leaders, and civil society organizations can carry out their work without fear of reprisals.
Agricultural workers are being targeted in the Pacific coastal departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca. So far in 2025, at least five sugar industry workers have been murdered and another seven injured. On September 2, security personnel at a sugar mill were intercepted by armed individuals who apparently intended to rob them. They fired gunshots; one worker was seriously injured.
This month, Jordy Alexis Cárdenas Campo, a member of the sugar cane workers union Sintraicañazucol, had recently been hired by the La Cabaña SA sugar mill. When he was working on November 8, armed men on a motorcycle approached him and shot him multiple times. Despite the efforts of rescue workers and his transfer to a medical center in Puerto Tejada, he died due to the severity of his injuries.
We are urging that authorities in Colombia consult with leadership of Sintraicañazucol and Asocaña (Association of Sugar Cane Growers of Colombia) to devise safety measures for workers in the fields.
When the Peace Agreement was signed with the guerrilla army FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) in November 2016, the government pledged to help over 14,000 former combatants reintegrate into society in exchange for the fighters laying down their weapons. Most went to live in any of 24 camps scattered across Colombia, known as Territorial Spaces for Training and Reintegration (ETCR). But there are risks faced by those who opted to enroll in the formal reintegration process. Since November 2016, more than 460 former guerrilla combatants have been murdered.
In the Department of Valle del Cauca, ex-combatant Wilmer Noguera España was leaving school accompanied by a friend in the municipality of Dagua when they were intercepted by unknown individuals. His companion was released, but Wilmer Noguera España was killed. His body was found in the same area two days later.
Wilmer Noguera España became the 35th signatory of the Peace Agreement assassinated in 2025. One year ago, his brother, Wilmer Noguera España (also an ex-combatant and signatory of the Peace Agreement) was killed in the same municipality. This deadly violence threatens the reintegration process of all former combatants.
