IRTF News

On July 28, 1982, Salvadoran military and state security agents illegally captured and violently disappeared Patricia Emilie Cuéllar Sandoval, a dual US and Salvadoran citizen, her father Mauricio Cuéllar, and their household worker Julia Orbelina Pérez. Patricia, who would have been the author’s aunt, was a human rights defender involved in Catholic youth movements and grassroots organizations. Despite a lengthy pursuit of justice, their families have not received answers about their whereabouts.

After four decades, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) declared the Salvadoran state responsible for their forced disappearances in 2024. This ruling marks a significant step toward justice for forced disappearance cases from the Salvadoran civil war, but impunity remains under President Nayib Bukele, who denies the history of the war and blocks investigations into military crimes. The US government, which supported the Salvadoran military dictatorship, also bears responsibility for withholding crucial information that could provide insight into these cases.

On July 28, 1982, three people were illegally captured and violently disappeared by Salvadoran military and state security agents: Patricia Emilie Cuéllar Sandoval, a US and Salvadoran citizen; her father Mauricio Cuéllar Cuéllar; and Julia Orbelina Pérez, a domestic worker in the Cuéllars’ home. On May 16, 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found the state of El Salvador responsible for the forced disappearances of Patricia, Mauricio, and Julia Orbelina.

The IACHR ruling marks a crucial milestone on the road to justice in forced disappearance cases during the civil war. Nevertheless, the Salvadoran state’s policy of impunity persists as Bukele’s regime denies civil war history, refuses a transitional justice law for the victims, and blocks investigations into war crimes by the military. The United States is also guilty of contributing to this culture of impunity. The US government, which played a role in and condoned the atrocities committed during the military dictatorship, is withholding crucial information that could offer additional insight into the case.

Rigoberta Menchú's memoir, I, Rigoberta Menchú, details the brutal history of an American-backed counterinsurgency against Guatemala's Maya population. The Maya, historically subjected to exploitation and forced labor, faced massacres, rape, and destruction in the name of anti-communism. Menchú, who lost nearly her entire family to military regimes, documented these atrocities and the community's struggle for land and rights. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 and founded Winaq, Guatemala's first indigenous political party. Her activism highlighted the devastating impacts of colonialism and modern exploitation, emphasizing the Maya's resilience and ongoing fight for justice.

For years, Garífuna community members and leaders have been threatened, arrested, abducted and murdered. Most notably, in July 2020, four Garífuna men were abducted at gunpoint by men wearing uniforms bearing the logo of a Honduran security forces unit. Instead of calling for an investigation into those responsible, the Honduran Attorney General has called for criminal proceedings against leaders of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH).

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have determined that the Garífuna community’s rights have repeatedly been violated by the Honduran government, yet little has changed regarding their treatment. This resolution condemns the violence toward the Garífuna people while calling for accountability from the Honduran government and other international institutions for their role in these abuses.

In the US House of Represenatives on June 5, Representatives Cori Bush (MO-01), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Jesus “Chuy” García (IL-04), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), and Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. (NY-16) reintroduced a resolution that affirms the rights of the Afro-Indigenous Garífuna people in Honduras. IRTF calls on all US representatives from Ohio to support this resolution. 

Cultural and territorial rights of the Afro-descendant Indigenous Garífuna people along the Atlantic coast of Honduras are under attack.

Starting in 2003, OFRANEH (Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras) began filing several cases with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (based in Washington, DC) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (based in San Jose, Costa Rica) for their government’s violation of its cultural and territorial rights.  When OFRANEH got their first favorable ruling in 2015, they weren’t exactly hopeful that the administration of the narco-dictator President Juan Orlando Hernández would do anything. But after President Castro, of the left-leaning LIBRE party, took office in January 2022, they did expect advancement of their cause.

A big stumbling block is that the communities that won their cases in the Inter-American Court (2015: Triunfo de la Cruz and Punta Piedra; 2023: San Juan) are fighting private corporations and foreign investors who have a lot at stake. Some have already illegally usurped lands and built tourist resorts. It will be tricky to figure out how to return ancestral lands to the Garífuna people and compensate the companies and investors for their losses. Also at stake is the very security of Garífuna communities. Since Garífuna leaders have become more vocal after the 2015 ruling, the persecution against them has increased—surveillance, intimidation, violence, criminalization.

During the first week of June 2024, a delegation of Garífuna leaders with OFRANEH are visiting US legislators on Capitol Hill to gain support for a US House resolution to affirm the rights of the Garífuna people.

You can read the press release from Rep. Cori Bush who introduced the resolution here.

Colombia’s first progressive president, Gustavo Petro, initiated a "total peace" program upon taking office in August 2022 to end the nation's long-standing conflict. This initiative involves negotiating with various illegal armed groups that remained after over 13,000 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were demobilized through the 2016 peace accords. These accords, supported by the U.S., ended the Western Hemisphere’s longest conflict (1964-2016), which caused nearly seven million people to be displaced and over 250,000 deaths.

Despite setbacks, negotiations with the largest remaining guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), have progressed further than under previous administrations. Talks with dissident FARC factions and other groups are ongoing. The Petro administration has significantly increased efforts and investments to implement the 2016 peace accords. However, many Colombians in conflict-affected areas still suffer from armed group violence and have not benefited from the promises of peace.

Negotiations with criminal groups like the Clan del Golfo have been contentious, with civil society groups criticizing the handling of ceasefires. Challenges to peace include government administrative weaknesses, armed groups' disrespect for civilians, and opposition from a divided Congress. The United Nations acknowledges the government's engagement with armed groups has reduced lethal violence. The Petro administration is improving its negotiation strategies and enforcing stricter ceasefire conditions.

The path to peace remains challenging, as most peace accords fail within five years, though Colombia has surpassed this period with a fragile peace. With global conflict on the rise, continued U.S. support for Colombia’s peace efforts, especially the 2016 accords and ELN negotiations, is crucial for further progress.

President Biden issued an executive order on June 4, 2024, to restrict asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border during surges in crossings, reflecting a major shift in immigration policy. This move is Biden's most restrictive border policy to date and echoes a 2018 effort by Trump that was blocked by the courts. Biden's order was prompted by congressional Republicans blocking bipartisan legislation on border security.

The policy kicks in when daily illegal crossings average 2,500 and suspends the right to seek asylum on U.S. soil, with exceptions for unaccompanied minors, human trafficking victims, and those using a specific app for asylum requests. The American Civil Liberties Union plans to challenge the order in court, arguing it is illegal, as it was under Trump.

This shift underscores the political pressures Biden faces regarding immigration, particularly as he prepares for the upcoming presidential election. The executive order aims to reduce illegal crossings and backlog in the asylum system but has drawn criticism from immigration advocates and some Democrats for undermining asylum protections.

On June 1, Salvadorans in six countries and five U.S. cities protested the inauguration of Nayib Bukele for a second term, declaring his presidency unconstitutional and illegitimate due to the Salvadoran constitution's prohibition of consecutive terms. Bukele's February 4 win, claimed as historic, only garnered 43% of eligible voters.

Protesters, alongside faith and solidarity organizations, condemned Bukele's State of Exception, citing abuses like 80,000 warrantless arrests and over 300 deaths in state custody. On May 30 and 31, leaders of the National Alliance for a Peaceful El Salvador were arrested preemptively.

Speakers at the Washington, DC rally highlighted the repression reminiscent of the civil war era, with Consuelo Gomez and Ana Sol Gutierrez urging international rejection of Bukele's government. They criticized his policies for increasing poverty and displacement, with recent data showing over 67% of working Salvadorans earn less than $400 monthly. COPPPAL called for a suspension of military and financial support to Bukele’s regime.

Since January 2023 when the Bukele administration arrested five water defenders in Cabañas Department on criminal allegations from 34 years ago, IRTF has been part of an international campaign to Free the Santa Marta 5. The five community leaders from Cabañas Department were instrumental in the national campaign—a 13-year mobilization—that led to the national ban on open-pit metal mining—the first in the world! They fought against the Pacific Rim company (aka OceanaGold) because there would be untold contamination of regional waterways.

President Bukele’s crackdown on gangs and violent crime that he calls the State of Exception (initiated in March 2022) has resulted in suspension of constitutional rights, mass arrests and mass incarceration. Many critics have pointed out that Bukele’s crackdown on violent crime is being used to mask arrests of political dissidents. President Bukele, in efforts to attract foreign investment, is suspected of wanting to get rid of the monumental national ban on open-pit metal mining.

TAKE ACTION: We need folks in the U.S. to call on their congresspersons to 1) reach out to the US State Department and encourage them to call for due process and send representatives to observe the trial of the Santa Marta 5; 2) tweet to demand that the charges against the #SantaMarta5 be dropped; 3) take action to halt US police and military assistance to El Salvador in light of the suspension of constitutional rights and mass incarceration currently happening under President Bukele’s State of Exception (State of Emergency). 

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Contact us with any questions: irtf@irtfcleveland.org or (216) 961 0003.

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In Jericó, Colombia, farmers and villagers are resisting the construction of a large copper mine by AngloGold Ashanti, fearing it will harm their water supply and agricultural livelihood. The company, seeking to extract significant amounts of copper, gold, and silver, has faced opposition from locals who blocked environmental impact studies necessary for the mining license. The town is divided, with some residents supporting the mine for its economic benefits, including job creation and community investments. Despite these benefits, environmental concerns and potential impacts on local water sources have fueled protests. The project remains stalled, awaiting further environmental studies and government approval.