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RRN Letter
Colombia, 1/13/2022
January 13, 2022
We expressed deep concern to officials in Colombia about the lack of government response to the paramilitary invasion of campesino townships and villages in the South of Bolívar which began during the last week of December, despite a large presence of the Colombian Armed Forces. The Armed Forces are allowing paramilitaries to take control. We are worried that massive displacement of villagers might result. We are urging authorities in Colombia to (1) consult with local leadership in the Montecristo region to devise a plan to project the local population from further violence and displacement by paramilitary forces, (2) reevaluate the mission the Colombian Armed Forces in the region, and (3) take decisive actions to dismantle paramilitary groups that are operating in the South of Bolívar.
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News Article
Nicaragua: Legendary Sandinista Leader Inaugurated as President, Defies US & Monroe Doctrine
January 13, 2022
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas, who dared to overthrow a US-backed dictatorship and choose their own allies to defend their revolution, represent a direct threat to the Monroe Doctrine. And now Ortega, who has been in office since 2007 and was re-elected again as president in a landslide victory in November, has thrown down another gauntlet to challenge American domination. One of the biggest fears of the US, and one of the greatest threats to the viability of the antiquated Monroe Doctrine, is that Ortega will partner with China to build a major shipping canal which would link Nicaragua’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
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RRN Letter
Honduras, 1/12/2022
January 12, 2022
Pablo Isabel Hernández, a 34-year-old father of four and community leader, was assassinated with seven gunshots just outside his home in Lempira Department on January 9. As a respected Indigenous Lenca leader, he was a constant target of persecution. As an environmental defender, Pablo Isabel Hernández served as president of La Red de Agroecologists of La Biosfera Cacique Lempira Señor de Las Montañas. As a person of faith, he organized local Christian base communities. As a journalist, he directed a community radio station and denounced human rights violations on his program. As a person committed to democratic process, he served as a human rights observer for the national and local elections on November 28.
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RRN Letter
Colombia, 1/11/2022
January 11, 2022
The National Police and its Anti-Riot Mobile Squad (ESMAD) carried out brutal repression against residents who are protesting against fare increases in Bogota’s TransMilenio transportation system. On January 5, ESMAD agents arrived with two military tanks at the Molinos neighbhorhood of Bogotá. They threw stun grenades at demonstrators and fired tear gas indiscriminately. ESMAD detained a young journalist and kicked him. As many as 2,500 National Police and ESMAD officers were deployed around the city on January 11, when the fare increase went into effect. Many demonstrators have been arrested.
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News Article
Exploited Labor: January is National Slavery & Human Trafficking Prevention Month
January 11, 2022

According to the International Labour Organization there are more than 40 million victims of human trafficking and forced labor around the world today, including children. This is a hard truth that the Fair Trade movement is fighting to change.

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News Article
Honduras: In Honduras, Victory of Leftist Woman President Rests on Other Women’s Struggles
January 10, 2022

Women have been at the forefront of struggle in Honduras throughout its history, from fighting dictatorships to challenging political corruption to seeking civil improvements such as gender parity in politics and education. The recent presidential election of Xiomara Castro Sarmiento Zelaya of the Libertad and Refundación (Libre) party has exhilarated women from various sectors and in the diaspora. And as the first woman president, In her campaign and platform, Castro embraced gender rights and sought to address femicides and structural violence against women and LGBTI communities—issues ignored in previous campaigns. But the most far-reaching policy for women is Castro’s support of the right to sexual and reproductive rights. Now, 67 years after women won the right to vote, Xiomara Castro is promising to be a president of the people and to restore Honduras’s constitutionality and rule of law. It promises to be a new era for women, of all races and ethnicities, and LGBTI communities.

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News Article
Migrant Justice: Democrats request Temporary Protected Status for migrants from 4 Central American countries
January 10, 2022

Senate Democrats in Washington on Monday asked the Biden administration to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) be extended to migrants of four Central American countries from where most are migrating to the U.S. Southwest border. The request was made to re-designate TPS for migrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala. The senators cited worsening humanitarian conditions across Central America, as well as rising coronavirus cases and multiple natural disasters.

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News Article
Anti-Militarism: 21st Century US Coups and Attempted Coups in Latin America
January 6, 2022
US organized coups in Latin American countries is hardly a 20th century phenomenon. However, this century the US rulers have turned to a new coup strategy, relying on soft coups, a significant change from the notoriously brutal military hard coups in the 1970s. One central US concern in these new coups has been to maintain a legal and democratic facade as much as possible. US regime change operations have found three mechanisms this century that have been tremendously successful: economic warfare on a country, increasing the use of corporate media and social media, and lastly, lawfare. Here is a list of US Backed Coups and Attempted Coups in the 21st Century.
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News Article
Colombia: Review of the Year 2021 - FOR Peace Presence
January 5, 2022

Review of the Year 2021 The past year was a challenging year for FOR Peace Presence and Colombia. Let's look back on the year together.

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News Article
Honduras: ¿Cómo puede la corte justificar la detención de los defensores de Guapinol? No puede
January 3, 2022

LUNES, 03 ENERO 2022 12:48

Los defensores ambientales de la comunidad de Guapinol se han enfrentado con una serie pesada de injusticias desde el momento que su río se convirtió en lodo en 2018 durante la construcción de una mina cercana.

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