IRTF News

The letter calls for justice in the assassination of campesino leader Pedro Pablo Salas Sánchez in Putumayo on December 4, 2023. Salas was a respected community leader involved in defending the environment against contamination caused by oil exploitation and glyphosate. The letter highlights the dangers faced by social leaders in the region from armed groups, with the government being aware of the risks. It emphasizes the need to publish the investigation results, bring the responsible parties to justice, and collaborate with campesino leaders to implement protection measures. Additionally, the letter urges the government to develop and fund a comprehensive plan for the protection of social leaders, as mandated by the Constitutional Court on December 11, 2023, with active involvement of social leaders in the planning process.

We wrote to officials in Colombia once again about the alarming rate of assassinations of social leaders. Phanor Guazaquillo Peña became the 155th social leader killed in 2023.

Phanor Guazaquillo Peña was the current governor of the Cabildo Nasa Kwesx Kiwe tribe. On December 3, 2023, he was attending the funeral for another Nasa leader (Manuel Carlosama) at a cemetery in Puerto Asís, Putumayo Department. A hitman arrived, shot him numerous times, pointed his weapon at others present at the funeral, then fled the scene on a motorcycle, driven by another accomplice. The 45-year-old community leader served on the board of Communities Constructing Peace in Colombia (CONPAZCOL).  He was the father to four children. 

We wrote to the US Ambassador in Honduras, requesting that the embassy disclose any code of conduct guidelines that it communicates to US nationals who are conducting business in Honduras. Santiago Emmanuel Londoño, Vice-President of the Administrative Council of Lachansa (a mining company) has been accused of sexual harassment of an Indigenous Tolupán girl (a minor) in Yoro Department.

According to a complaint filed with the authorities in Honduras, Santiago Emmanuel Londoño entered the home of the girl without permission on at least three occasions. He made indecent comments and requests of a sexual nature. He proposed to the victim’s mother that she “lend him” the daughter. In exchange, he would give them money, trips, and employment.  On at least one occasion he burst into the home without notice, accompanied by two bodyguards. We are also asking that the US Embassy a statement condemning illegal and indecent behavior by US nationals while doing business in Honduras.

Juan David Chávez Yoino, a 23-year-old member of the Nasa Indigenous reservation Juan Tama del Pueblo Nasa, was assassinated on November 12, 2023, in the rural community of Antonio Nariño, municipality of La Plata, Huila Department. He was shot four times by armed men. This act marked him as the 141st social leader to be assassinated in 2023, contributing to a disturbing total of 1,555 leaders killed since the signing of the Peace Accords in November 2016, according to INDEPAZ. By December 11, 2023, the number of social leaders killed had risen to 157. Responding to this crisis, the Constitutional Court declared the situation unconstitutional, citing the violation of the population's rights, and mandated the national government to ensure the security of social leaders. The court specifically instructed key offices to design a comprehensive plan to prevent and address violence against social leaders, emphasizing the need for institutional capacity and budget for protection mechanisms.

As leaders of SINDHEP, William Salazar Valencia (president) and Ana Rosa Fuentes Potes (vice-presidents) filed two criminal complaints against Carlos Camargo Assis. One complaint was the alleged use of the Digital Evidence Forensic Laboratory equipment to spy on union workers (and use the illegally obtained communications against them). A few weeks after a second complaint was filed by the SINDHEP leaders, William Salazar received a death threat via WhatsApp accompanied by a photo taken of his son on the street. The message made it clear that the threat was related to his filing a formal complaint against Carlos Camargo Assis.