Colombia Watch

The dream of peace in Colombia continues. Peace for Colombia is peace for the world!

The 2022 elections in Colombia brought a seismic shift in Colombian politics and rejuvenated a peace process that many had pronounce dead. AFGJ led an election accompaniment, obsdervation, and media mission for both rounds of the presidential elections. While we witnessed numerous irregularities, saw death threats against our Colombian partners, and heard testimonies about intimidation of voters, none of these were sufficient to defeat the groundswell of popular participation. The election of Colombia’s first Center-Left president Gustavo Petro, and the vice president Francia Marquez, an Afro-Colombian eco-defender who rose to prominence from grass roots struggle, was made possible by the huge popular movements that exist in the country.

Nevertheless, the road to peace is not easy nor is it certain. While the Petro administration has made a bold proposal for a Total Peace Plan, fundamental concrete steps have not been taken to insure its success, and political killings and forced displacement remain excessively high. Petro’s proposal to end the Drug War is especially encouraging. However, his proposal to, alternatively, involve US and NATO troops in the Amazon region is something that must be opposed.

Follow the Alliance for Global Justice to keep informed about the reality in Colombia, where a groundswell of resistance may be forcing a change that not even the empire and all its puppets can stop. If you would like more information on our Colombia work, please send an email to [email protected] .

Visit our archive of past articles and activities of the Colombia Watch working group.


Watch this video of the play Beyond the Walls, a play based on writings collected and contributed to by Liliany Obando while she was a political prisoner at the Buen Pastor Womens Prison in Bogotá. The script was developed by AfGJ’s James Jordan in collaboration with Lazos de Dignidad and the International Network in Solidarity with the Political Prisoners. The play was directed by Frida Espinosa Cárdenas. Versions of the play are available from AfGJ in both English and the original Spanish.

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