Out of Left Field: On the unsustainable path in Latin America

The ravaging of the homelands and attacks on the Indigenous Peoples of Colombia and Honduras (and why people might leave their home countries to come here . . . )

About attacks on indigenous communities that are fighting against the encroachments of international interests and assassination of indigenous peoples and their leaders
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Dot #1: Colombia:
The FOR Peace Presence in Colombia has sent a message requesting urgently funds to support their efforts, noting: “Official figures show 311 social/opposition leaders have been murdered since the peace agreements were signed in late 2016. And since Duque won presidential elections on June 17, this year, 20 have been murdered in less than a month!”

The assassinations of over 300 social/opposition leaders. The Duque administration’s roll-back of the peace agreement. Work on a hydroelectric dam project: “Colombia’s Hidroituango dam: ‘There’s a new war taking place’.” The article is subtitled: “Flooding reignites protests against country’s biggest dam in a region still traumatized by years of conflict.”

The article notes: “It is estimated that the area affected by the dam saw over 3,500 murders between 1990 and 2016, with more than 600 people forcibly disappeared and 110,000 displaced.”

Dot #2: Honduras:
The murders of social/opposition leaders in Honduras, like Berta Cáceres, assassinated in connection with a comparable hydroelectric dam project in Honduras – “Honduran dam protesters face trial in ongoing crackdown against defenders.”  The article begins: “The ‘Jilamito Five’ are the latest to be caught up in battles over land and natural resources, that have seen more than 130 defenders killed since 2009.” 

Connecting the Dots:
There’s a need to protect indigenous communities fighting against the encroachments of international interests pushing hydroelectric and other projects in Colombia, Honduras, and perhaps other Latin American countries, as well as a need to protect the people in the consequent diasporas. What can we do to:

• support efforts like the FOR Peace Presence
• raise public awareness
• inject these matters into the rhetoric of the upcoming elections, and
• pursue other effective possible actions.