James Patrick Jordan

International Solidarity Address to the National Conference for the Liberty of the Political Prisoners in Bogotá, Colombia

by James Jordan, Alliance for Global Justice My name is James Jordan and I work for the Alliance for Global Justice and am a member of the Coordinating Committee of the National Network in Solidarity with the Political Prisoners (of Colombia). There is nothing we want more for the Colombian people than an end to…

False Claims Versus Hard Realities: The Pending Free Trade Agreement with Colombia

by James Jordan With a little more than a year till the 2012 elections the White House and Congressional leadership are anxious to pass pending Free Trade Agreements as soon as possible. They are hoping that their constituents won’t notice what’s going on and, if they do, that they’ll have forgotten by Election Day, 2012.

Interview with Eberto Diaz Montes, President of FENSUAGRO (United National Federation of Peasant Farmers and Farm Workers), Colombia

This interview was conducted with Eberto Díaz Montes by James Patrick Jordan, who also translated it. AFGJ: The National Encounter for the Land and for Peace has been a success in bringing together so many sectors of Colombian society to talk about peace and a political solution to the conflict. Do you believe that this…

AFGJ’s Delegation to Colombia

By James Jordan, National Co-Coordinator Alliance for Global Justice delegations center around making connections, gathering and disseminating important new information and, above all, training, inspiring and empowering delegates to return home and get active. We don’t do political tourism. We do go to pains to find partners who are involved in crucial struggles, but who…

A Visit Inside Colombia’s Most Notorious Prison, La Tramacúa

By James Jordan, Alliance for Global Justice National Co-Coordinator I called Raquel Mogollón just minutes after she had come from a rare visit inside the pavilions of Colombia’s most notorious prison, the High Security Penitentiary of Valledupar, commonly known as La Tramacúa. Mogollón is the Chair of the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ) Colombia Committee…

The “New Penitentiary Culture”: US Designs for Colombian Jails

How the USAID, Federal Bureau of Prisons and the School of the Americas Have Impacted Colombia’s Prison System By James Jordan Reprinted from The Narco News Bulletin September 9, 2010 Amid much talk of human rights and improved conditions for those deprived of liberty, in March of 2000, the US ambassador and Colombia’s Minister of Justice signed…

La “Nueva Cultura Penitenciaria”: Los diseños estadunidenses para las prisiones colombianas

Cómo USAID, el Buró Federal de Prisiones y la Escuela de las Américas han impactado el sistema penitenciario colombiano Por James Jordan Originalmente publicado en The Narco News Bulletin 10 de septiembre 2010 En medio de tanta discusión sobre derechos humanos y sobre la mejora de las condiciones de aquellos privados de su libertad, en…

La Tramacúa: Colombia’s Abu Ghraib

By James Jordan Special to The Narco News Bulletin August 17, 2010 This report appears on the internet at http://www.narconews.com/Issue66/article4177.html The name commonly used to refer to the Medium and High Security Penitentiary of Valledupar is “La Tramacúa.” What that name means exactly, no one is certain. But it is a name that is infamous throughout Colombia…