Thank you to everyone who sent emails and/or called authorities to stop the impending raid of Ciudad Bolívar!

A NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT HAS BEEN REACHED!

Last Wednesday, September 23, 2020, we sent out an urgent alert about an imminent raid to drive out an encampment of indigenous and rural people from Ciudad Bolívar. a locality of Bogotá, Colombia. They had occupied an empty field after having been forcibly displaced due to the epidemic and ongoing political violence. The refugee camp was on the verge of being raided by the US-funded ESMAD riot police. These same police had, the week before, carried out a massacre of at least 13 people who were protesting police brutality.

Paramilitaries and other enemies of Colombia’s peace process have been killing social movement leaders, especially in rural areas, at a rate of more than one person today. The federal government has done little to stop this terrible situation. Colombia has the world’s largest population of displaced persons, with more than eight million people driven from their homes and communities. Thanks to the mobilizations of the people and the actions of international solidarity activists, an accord was reached between spokespersons for the Ciudad Bolívar encampment and the mayoral offices. Local leaders have agreed to help people from the encampment to find lodging and secure basic social services.

We will continue to monitor the situation. Again, thank you so much to our supporters who took action to prevent this tense and potentially tragic situation.