IRTF News

We wrote to officials in Colombia urging an investigation into death threats against Darnelly Rodríguez, director of Centro Pazífico in Cali, Valle del Cauca Department, and  nominee for the 2022 Colombia National Human Rights Prize. On December 24, 2022, she received a death threat from the paramilitary organization Autodefensas Gaitanistas (AGC, or Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces) that listed her by name.  This is one of multiple threats that Darnelly Rodríguez has received from the AGC since the Centro Pazífico opened. These threats have been sent by email, left at public buildings, even delivered to her home. Earlier this year, her office at the Centro Pazífico was broken into; files and computer thumb drives were taken. 

Serving one of the regions most affected by Colombia's political violence, Centro Pazífico, is a refuge for social leaders fleeing violence.

We wrote to officials in Honduras about the attempted assassination of yet another Indigenous Lenca community leader, Nery Gonzáez, of the Achiotal community in Siguatepeque, in the department of Comayagua.

Nery González is one of the campesino leaders in Achiotal who is part of an effort to reclaim lands in order to plant food crops. On December 11, an unknown assailant shot him in the head while he was walking into his home. He was transferred to Hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa where he was conscious but in serious condition. In spite of the fact that he was attacked at his home, by an unknown armed man, the police never came to his home to investigate and, as of December 15, had not yet conducted any investigation into the facts of the case.

Due to the farmers’ work there of reclaiming their ancestral lands, residents of Achiotal have been criminalized and persecuted by large private landowners, the National Police and the military. In October 2020, the National Police entered—at dawn—several houses without a search warrant and arrested six members of COPINH (Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras). They were previously victims of multiple attacks in order to evict them from the land. Two years later they are still facing unjust criminal charges. 

We wrote to officials in Honduras about the killing of yet another Indigenous community leader, Marco Antonio Pineda of the Guachipilín community in the department of La Paz on November 23, yet again by the authorities.

Marco Antonio Pineda was a leader in the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH).  The National Police killed him. First they arrested him and his cousins arbitrarily for no apparent reason in the community of El Encinal, as they were walking toward Guachipilin.  After the police brutally beat one of his cousins, Marco Antonio Pineda went toward his cousin to check on him. It was at that time one of the officers fired his weapon at Marco, causing a serious wound to his chest that eventually cost him his life. 

We urge that authorities in Honduras conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of  Marco Antonio Pineda by the National Police,  publish the results, and hold those responsible in a court of law.

We wrote to authorities in Guatemala to protest the forced displacement of the Maya Q’eqchi’ community of Chapín Abajo in El Estor, Izabal Department, carried out by agents of the National Civilian Police (PNC) and paramilitary forces.

On December 6, Guatemalan security forces arrived to carry out an eviction on behalf of the palm oil company NaturAceites, a member of the international Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. Together with paramilitary forces, they raided homes of families, stealing their food and personal belongings. They fired tear gas on the residents. An investigative delegation arrived later and confirmed that several people were injured. A 17-year-old was seriously wounded and hospitalized in critical condition. At least one other young man was missing. Two other men suffered gunshot wounds. Several women were beaten and sustained injuries to their faces and bodies.

During the past several months, several Q'eqchi' communities have been evicted in the region of Alta Verapaz, Izabal and Petén.

We wrote to authorities in Guatemala to protest the forced displacement of the Maya Q’eqchi’ community of Se’inup’ in El Chal, Petén Department, carried out by agents of the National Civilian Police (PNC).

During the past several months, Q'eqchi' communities have been evicted in the region of Alta Verapaz, Izabal and Petén, despite the organized resistance of the Indigenous communities. Local government authorities continue to side with more powerful economic and political interests. In the case of Se’inup’, where 56 families engage in subsistence farming, they have been working through the legal process of land titling. Whether the state would give them all their land or half, they were ready to accept the ruling. In the meantime, they have nowhere else to go.

We are urging that authorities in Guatemala: (1) legally resolve the land conflict and grant at least half of the land to the families of Se’inup’, (2) stop issuing eviction orders while legal processes are still pending, and (3) stop siding with the interests of private companies over the needs of subsistence farmers