Colombia: News & Updates

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ vote and new national campaign to support migrants are the group’s first responses to the Trump administration’s crackdown.

In a rare group statement, America’s Catholic bishops voted nearly unanimously Wednesday to condemn the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants as an attack on “God-given human dignity,” and advocated for “meaningful reform of our nation’s immigration laws.”

“We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people. We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement,” read the message from the U.S.

Conference of Catholic Bishops. After the vote (216-5, with three abstentions), the bishops stood and applauded. The last such “Special Message” was delivered 12 years ago.

The new message listed the types of suffering the church leaders say many undocumented migrants experience, including “arbitrarily” losing their legal status, being subject to poor detention conditions, and being afraid to take children to school or go to church. “We feel compelled now in this environment to raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,” the bishops wrote.

Thank you to all who gathered with IRTF on November 9 for our annual commemoration event to mark the 45th anniversary of the sacrifice of four US women missioners in El Salvador. In response to that horrific tragedy, people of faith and conscience in Cleveland founded IRTF as a way to carry forward their legacy—taking action in solidarity with oppressed and marginalized communities as they struggle for peace, dignity, and justice.

IRTF board and staff wishes to thank all the volunteers who helped us set up, decorate, run the event and pack up at the end of the night, Pilgrim Church for hosting us, the kitchen staff at Guanaquitas pupsería for preparing our dinner, Megan Wilson-Reitz for coordinating our social hour (and the many kitchen volunteers!), Salim and Lucía for coordinating our raffle/auction, Pastor Jay for running the tech, and all who participated in the service and speaker program.

To our 46 co-sponsors: Thank you for your financial support that helps us continue calling people into solidarity with oppressed peoples in Central America and Colombia. We are deeply appreciative of your affirmation of our mission and ongoing commitment to this important work.

Eight years after police tore through her land, destroying her crops and home, Chela still cannot return to El Guayabo—the place she loves most and fears most. Her pain is shared by a community that has endured years of violence, evictions, and resistance in defense of their territory. But now, after more than a decade of struggle, El Guayabo’s wounds are finally being acknowledged: the community has been officially recognized as a subject of collective reparations under Colombia’s Victims’ Law.

This long-awaited recognition is more than a bureaucratic victory—it’s an act of memory and dignity. It affirms the suffering, resilience, and courage of those who stood their ground through fear and loss. As El Guayabo enters a new phase to define how reparations will be made, the hope is that this step will not only restore what was taken but help heal what violence tried to erase.

In November 2016, historic peace accords were signed between the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the government. But several factions (called "dissidents") broke off from the FARC and refused to lay down their weapons. One of the largest is the Second Marquetalia, a FARC dissident faction led by Ivan Marquez.  Another rebel group, the National Coordinator of the Bolivarian Army (CNEB) emerged from the Second Marquetalia.

Now, as a sign of goodwill during its peace talks with the government, the CNEB is handing over armaments. This process with the CNEB could become one of Petro's few concrete peace achievements.

Amidst growing fear in migrant communities because of the Trump administration’s sweeping immigrant crackdown, thousands of migrants have been returning to their home countries, now becoming known as a “reverse migration.” Many are forced to retrace their perilous journeys North, crossing the treacherous jungles of the Darien Gap, boarding cargo boats traversing choppy Pacific waters, or undertaking long bus journeys that are subject to the constant threat of illegally armed groups. Not only is this journey extremely risky, but it is an increasingly costly endeavor. This forces those without the means to pay for safer alternatives to become stranded in inhumane conditions, often falling victim to violence and vulnerable to exploitation.