Excmo. Sr. Presidente Gustavo Petro Urrego
President of the Republic of Colombia
contacto@presidencia.gov.co
Sr. Fiscal Francisco Barbosa Delgado
Attorney General of Colombia
despacho.fiscal@fiscalia.gov.co
June 23, 2023
Dear Sirs:
Last month we wrote to you to denounce the assassination of Diego Mauricio Mejía Rojas, member of Memoria
Viva union of security guards (Sindicato Nacional Memoria Viva de los Trabajadores de la Seguridad y Protección
del Pueblo). He became the eighth member of Memoria Viva killed since the union was established five years
ago (cf our letter of May 25, 2023). We write to you again today, distressed to learn of another violent attack
against members of Memoria Viva. These attacks against members of Memoria Viva come at a time when the
union is negotiating contracts with government agencies, such as the National Protection Unit (UNP).
On June 6 at a discotheque in Miranda, Cauca Department, two men arrived on a motorcycle. One of them
entered the night club, located his victims and in a matter of seconds he drew a firearm and shot them at close
range. Alexander Garcés Biscunda was shot in the head. Bleider Andrés Garcés Biscunda, his brother, was
seriously wounded. Also wounded was 32-year-old Paola Andrea Chantre Pilcué. The perpetrators fled the
scene. The Garcés Biscunda brothers are members of Memoria Viva.
In a related case of government negotiations with union workers, the Defensor del Pueblo (Ombudsman for
Human Rights), Carlos Ernesto Camargo Assis, has been illegally intercepting private communications of union
workers in his own office and has expelled the SINDHEP union (Sindicato de Defensoras y Defensores de
Derechos Humanos de la Defensoría del Pueblo) from the negotiation table. This dismissal of SINDHEP from
negotiations came just days after SINDHEP publicly denounced Ombudsman Carlos Camargo, warning about the
risks of corruption, clientelism (patronage), and wiretapping of workers taking place under his administration.
Carlos Camargo has long been at odds with his union staff. During the National Strike of 2021, SINDHEP
criticized Carlos Camargo for undercounting the assaults and killings and failing to protect the rights of protesters
and social leaders. In March, 2021, SINDHEP accused Carlos Camargo of being complicit in state terrorism
(militarized response to the protests) and called for his resignation.
Memoria Viva and SINDEHP are founding members of SINDEPAZ (Colombia’s Union Network for Peace). To
promote the peace process and protect human rights defenders, we strongly urge that you
(1) investigate the attack on Memoria Viva union members in Cauca on June 6, publish the results, and bring
those responsible to justice
(2) instruct the UNP to negotiate in good faith with Memoria Viva
(3) instruct the office of the Defensor del Pueblo to re-open negotiations with SINDHEP and stop intercepting
private communications of its members
Sincerely,
Brian J. Stefan Szittai Christine Stonebraker-Martínez
Co-Coordinators
copies:
Augusto Rodríguez Ballesteros, Director de la Unidad Nacional de Protección (UNP) ~ via email
Luis Fernando Velasco Chaves, Ministro del Interior ~ via email
Luis Gilberto Murillo, Ambassador of Colombia to the US ~ via email, US mail
Joel Hernández García, Rapporteur for Colombia , Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) ~ via email, US mail
UN: Juliette De Rivero, Representative in Colombia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ~ via email
US Embassy: Francisco Palmieri (Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim); Sandra Lee (human rights) ~ via email
US State Department: Christine Russell, Desk Officer for Colombia ~ via email
US Senators from Ohio: Brown and Vance; US Representatives from Ohio: Beatty, Brown, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Kaptur, Latta, Miller, Sykes ~ via email
08 JUN 2023_SINDHEP_Colombia
