Top US Diplomat, EU Leaders Agree to Continue Pressure on Moscow

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with leaders of the European Union on Friday, pledging with them to keep pressuring Russia with sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine, saying Russia’s aggression is a threat relevant to the entire world.

Following a similar meeting with NATO allies in Brussels, Blinken attended a special EU foreign ministers meeting. Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, the top U.S. diplomat said what is at risk with Russia’s invasion — along with the lives of Ukrainians — are fundamental principles of peace and security that the world established during two world wars, which Russian President Vladimir Putin “is egregiously violating every single day.”

Following the ministerial meeting, Blinken and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen met with reporters.

Von der Leyen ran through a series of sanctions on Russia’s financial system, which she said would cut off Russia’s central bank from a significant share of its reserves to bolster the plummeting ruble, the nation’s currency. As a result, the bank has had to raise interest rates by 20%, driving up inflation.

Action against commercial banks

Meanwhile, the country’s commercial banks have been cut off from global markets and from SWIFT, the worldwide interbank communications system, curtailing their ability to finance the economy.

Unfortunately and tragically, Blinken said, the war in Ukraine is not likely to be over soon, but the measures Von der Leyen announced must be sustained “until it stops, until the war is over, [and] the Russian forces leave.” He said both U.S. and EU officials were committed to doing that.

Blinken said Russia’s actions could not go unanswered.

“If we allow those principles to be violated with impunity, then we’re opening a Pandora’s box in every corner of the world for this to happen again and again and again,” he said.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

Social leaders defy violence in Colombia's border town of Saravena | Main | Spanish edition

On January 19, a car bomb exploded a few meters from a building in the city of Saravena, in the Colombian municipality of Arauca, where some 60 community leaders had gathered.

The activists survived the bombing because hours before the attack, they had erected makeshift barricades with plastic barrels they filled with stones as FARC dissidents, with Antonio Medina at the helm, were attempting on assassinating them.

The attack claimed one life, Simeón Delgado, who was a security guard at the Colombian Agricultural Institute headquarters where the van exploded causing extensive damage to several buildings, including the Héctor Alirio Martínez building which is used by community-led organizations and was the target of the attack.

Valledupar marched against crimes of social leaders - Other Cities - Colombia

Social organizations demonstrate in Valledupar in rejection of the crimes of the leaders Teófilo Manuel Acuña and Jorge Tafur, registered last Tuesday in Puerto Oculto, district of San Martín, municipality in the south of Cesar.

The victims were spokespersons for the Interlocution Commission of the south of Bolívar, for the center and south of Cesar, south of Magdalena and Processes of the Santanderes (CISBCSC).
Both received bullet wounds in different parts of the body, by armed men who approached them in the middle of a family gathering.

(Also: Governor of Sucre denounces ELN presence in La Mojana)

“It is a reprehensible fact that could have been avoided. We had already been publicly denouncing the violation of human rights and the systematic threat against our main spokespersons on national and international stages,” stressed Nadia Umaña, spokesperson for this organization.

Teófilo Acuña was facing a process for the crime of rebellion and others along with two peasant leaders linked to the National Agrarian Coordinator.

“This is a judicial set-up that they mounted against him. Since they couldn’t with this process, they facilitated his murder, ”said the spokeswoman.

For his part, Tafur had a career as a trade unionist, participated in the struggles of the National Association of Peasant Users – Anuc and in November 2021 he was elected a member of the National Board of the National Agrarian Coordinator.

The social group demands that the authorities investigate these murders, measures to stop these violent acts and threats from armed groups against the leaders.

“Before the murder, we had denounced that the landowner Wilmer Díaz was attacking the peasants in this sector. In fact, recently, a person was injured. The police and the mayor of San Martín met with them and nothing happened,” said a spokesperson.

The Interlocution Commission highlighted that the defenseless situation of the leaders in Cesar is critical. The double homicide of their spokesmen increases the abandonment on the part of the authorities and the institutional framework.

At this moment there are more than 15 threatened spokespersons in Tamalameque, Chimichagua, Pailitas, Astrea, among others.

“The State has responsibility because they know about these threats. The death of Teófilo and Jorge could have been prevented. If they dared to attack them, what remains for us!” Acuña said through tears.

In this same context, they demand compliance with the agreements that have been proposed at the dialogue tables since 2005.

The protest will take place in the Plazoleta de la Gobernación del Cesar, starting at two in the afternoon.

The National Agrarian Coordinator Association of Colombia (CNA) has joined the event, which also rejected and lamented the events.

“We warn about the risks of our organizations. We reiterate our decision to continue fighting in defense of our social processes”, highlighted the CNA in a statement.

Ludys Ovalle Jacome
Special for Weather
Valledupar

Social leaders murdered in Cesar have been receiving threats - Other Cities - Colombia

The Governor of Bolívar, Vicente Blel, spoke in front of the crime of Teófilo Acuña and Jorge Alberto Tafur, social leaders and spokespersons for the Interlocution Commission of southern Bolívar, for the center and south of Cesar, south of Magdalena and Procesos de los Santanderes (CISBCSC).

“Teófilo, spokesman for the Mesa del Sur de Bolívar, and his family hurt us; Jorge, a great representative of the National Agrarian Board, hurts us; it hurts us for his work and above all for their families who suffer this immense pain of firing a father , brother, friend and great representative of the Federation of Miners of the South of Bolívar”, said Blel.

Also: Teófilo Acuña and Jorge Tafur, the social leaders murdered in Cesar)

The Congress of the Peoples pronounces

“To whom we cry today, with deep regret, were important leaders of our department who accompanied all the conciliation demonstrations before the Government and with whom we work very closely,” added Blel.

Teófilo Acuña and Jorge Alberto Tafur were assassinated in San Martín, south of the department of Cesar. The events were recorded at 9:45 pm last Tuesday in Puerto Oculto, a rural area of ​​the town.

The People’s Congress made public that both leaders had been threatened in their homes. He also recalled that Teófilo Acuña had been the victim of a judicial setup.

“These situations were reported to the authorities, who did nothing to protect their lives,” said the People’s Congress.

(Also: Children from the rural area of ​​Santa Marta receive classes in cockpit and billiards)

Blel asked that the authorities in charge of the investigations deliver results as soon as possible in order to deal with this situation.

Governor Vicente Blel asks for more
accompaniment and protection in Bolivarian territory

It is urgent that the National Government intervene and give us all the support and attention so that we can offer all the guarantees to the citizens

The Government of Bolívar reported that the director of Security and Citizen Coexistence, José Ardila, is leading the investigations with the support of the public force.

“We are coordinating and accompanying the authorities and public forces in this situation that is so painful for us, for Bolívar and above all for the families. The important thing is to preserve and take care of the lives of those who represent leadership in this area of ​​Bolívar and we have done so, however unfortunately today with the death of these Bolivarians in the land of Cesar, greater actions are activated to stop and detect any other fact that put at risk the lives not only of leaders but also of the inhabitants of the Middle and South Magdalena of our Department.

(You may be interested: The unknown story of the refinery that changed the course of the country)

Governor Vicente Blel asks for more accompaniment and protection in Bolivarian territory for all threatened leaders, it is fully complied with and he remains in permanent contact with them, receiving reports of any news.

“It is urgent that the National Government intervene and give us all the support and attention so that we can offer all the guarantees to the citizens,” added Blel Scaff.

More news in Colombia

Authorities established alternate routes after bridge explosion in Cesar

Barranquilla launched the resettlement program

Biden to Speak Friday to Transatlantic Leaders About Ukraine

WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS — 

U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak with transatlantic leaders Friday about the crisis in Ukraine. The White House has said that the president will inform the leaders about the U.S. efforts to pursue deterrence and diplomacy.

On Thursday, Biden said there is a “very high” likelihood that Russia will invade Ukraine in the next several days.

“We have reason to believe that they are engaged in a false-flag operation to have an excuse to go in,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “Every indication we have is they’re prepared to go into Ukraine, attack Ukraine.

“My sense is it will happen within the next several days,” he said.

Biden said, however, he still believes it is possible to find a diplomatic solution that would ease Russia’s concerns about NATO’s missiles and military training exercises in eastern Europe. The Western allies reject Russia’s main demand that NATO rule out the possibility of granting membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken later echoed Biden, telling the U.N. Security Council that the world can expect to see Russia attack Ukraine within days and that intelligence information indicates it could be preceded by a fabricated pretext.

“This could be a violent event that Russia will blame on Ukraine, or an outrageous accusation that Russia will level against the Ukrainian government,” Blinken said. “We don’t know exactly the form it will take.”

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Blinken “noted in his remarks at the UN Security Council today that, because we believe the only responsible way to resolve this crisis is through diplomacy and dialogue, he had proposed to meet [Russian] Foreign Minister Lavrov in Europe next week.”

Price said, “The Russians have responded with proposed dates for late next week, which we are accepting, provided there is no further Russian invasion of Ukraine. If they do invade in the coming days, it will make clear they were never serious about diplomacy. We will continue to coordinate with our allies and partners and push for further engagements with Russia through the NATO-Russia Council and OSCE [the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe].”

Meanwhile, Moscow expelled the No. 2 U.S. diplomat from the U.S. Embassy in the Russian capital.

The State Department said the expulsion of Bart Gorman, the deputy chief of mission in Moscow, “was unprovoked, and we consider this an escalatory step and are considering our response.”

In Brussels, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russia is continuing to mass its forces along Ukraine’s borders and that he sees no indication that Moscow is sending troops home, as it claims.

“We don’t see that,” the Pentagon chief said at a meeting of NATO defense ministers. “Quite the contrary, we see them add to the more than 150,000 troops they already have arrayed along that border. … We even see them stocking up their blood supplies.”

“I know firsthand that you don’t do these sorts of things for no reason, and you certainly don’t do them if you’re getting ready to pack up and go home,” Austin said. U.S. officials say Moscow has sent another 7,000 troops to the Ukraine border in recent days.

Austin added, “There is no reason, of course, that it should ever come to this. Just like there is no reason for Russia to again invade Ukraine” after annexing Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

The Kremlin contends it is withdrawing troops from near the Ukraine border but said it will take time to do so.

Austin said that if Russian President Vladimir Putin “chooses war” instead of a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine crisis, “it will be Mr. Putin who will bear the responsibility for the suffering and the immense sacrifice that ensues.”

Austin said that “a peaceful outcome that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity represents the best outcome for Ukraine, to be sure, but also for Russia and for the Russian people.”

Russia’s intentions could become clearer after the United States and its allies analyze a document that the Kremlin delivered to U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan in Moscow.

It is Russia’s written response to the recent U.S. and NATO offer to negotiate over their missile deployment and troop exercises in Europe while rejecting Russia’s demands related to possible Ukrainian membership in NATO.

The U.S. is also watching the conflict between Russian separatists and Kyiv’s forces in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where 14,000 people have been killed in the past eight years.

On Thursday, Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels traded accusations of firing across a cease-fire line. Austin said reports of the shelling were “certainly troubling. We’ve said for some time that the Russians might do something like this in order to justify a military conflict, so we’ll be watching very closely.”

Struck during the shelling was a kindergarten classroom in Stanytsia Luhanska, in pro-Ukrainian territory in Donbas.

A woman stands inside among debris after the reported shelling of a kindergarten in the settlement of Stanytsia Luhanska, Ukraine, on Feb. 17, 2022.

Separatists in the Luhansk region blamed the Ukrainian government for the shelling, adding that rebel forces returned fire, according to The Associated Press.

However, Ukraine disputed the claim, saying separatists had shelled its forces, but they didn’t fire back. The Ukrainian military command said the shelling wounded two teachers and cut power to half the town, according to media reports.

“Attacks on kindergartens and schools have been a sad reality for children in eastern Ukraine over the last eight years,” UNICEF said in a statement early Friday. “More than 750 schools have been damaged since the beginning of the conflict, disrupting access to education for thousands of children on both sides of the contact line.”

“Educational facilities should remain a safe space where children can be protected from threats and crises and a haven where they can learn, play, and grow to their full potential,” UNICEF said.

Yasar Halit Cevik, the head of the monitoring mission for the OSCE, told the U.N Security Council there had been 500 explosions along the contact line from Wednesday evening to Thursday. He said that tensions then appeared to ease, with fewer blasts reported.

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said in a tweet, “The aggressor in Donbas is clear – Russia.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was deeply concerned about the flare-up in violence. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for a condemnation of what he called a “severe violation of Minsk agreements by Russia amid an already tense security situation.” The U.S. Embassy also made similar comments in another tweet.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, “We are concerned that Russia is trying to stage a pretext for an armed attack against Ukraine.”

He said that “NATO’s door remains open” to negotiations, but the Western alliance cannot accept when “big powers intimidate, bully or dictate others.” He invited Russia to “engage in good faith” over the Ukraine crisis.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

The controversies of leaders of the Democratic Center for security in Cali - Elections 2022

The vallecaucanos Gabriel Velasco Y Christian Garces They assure that they are not only united by a friendship that they have been consolidating during their careers in the country’s politics.

They want to repeat the duo in the Congress of the republic for him Democratic Center. Velasco, in the Senateand Garces, in the House of Representatives.

“This Senate and Chamber formula will continue to defend and manage the projects and resources that the Valley del Cauca by the Nation”, says Christian Garcés with his colleague, who have been touring different locations in the department, taking into account that the campaign is getting tighter and time is running out.

The Democratic Center has had two seats since 2018 in the Chamber, when it reached the third best vote to reach this corporation from Valle del Cauca. On that occasion he scored 142,165.

But will he be able to sustain those seats and get a third?

In the Senate there are two more seats for Valle del Cauca. Today, in addition to Velasco, John Hárold Suárez, former mayor of Buga, who also wants to repeat in that corporation, was also elected four years ago.

(Also read: This was answered by Mayor Jorge Iván Ospina to Óscar Iván Zuluaga)

Gabriel Velasco and Christian Garcés, in their campaign as a formula for Congress.

Photo:

From video by @gabrieljvelasco

In the case of Velasco and Garcés, they bet on it once again being the formula to maintain their seats, and security in Cali and Valle del Cauca have been one of the battle horses in this campaign that is getting more and more alive. while questioning the mayor of the city, Jorge Iván Ospina.

Both candidates consider that security in the region has high rates of homicides and other crimes, especially in calli, city ​​where the Ombudsman’s Office issued an early warning in January for the presence of armed groups organized in alliance with forces of the drug trafficking.

Both candidates consider that security in the region has marked rates of homicides and other crimes, especially in Cali

Within the insecurity, the attacks against the Public Force stand out, in the country, as in the southwest, among them, the one that shook the southeast of Cali due to the explosive against a truck with policemen from the Anti-Riot Squad (Esmad) that left 13 uniformed and one civilian injured, on January 8 this year.

In addition, the Ministers of the Interior, Daniel Palacios, and of Defense, Diego Molano, They held a security council at the end of January to analyze the situation and take measures, which included maintaining security with 6,500 police officers and having the support of 2,300 Army soldiers. Likewise, safeguard the corridor of the Cauca River with a river patrol that is used for drug trafficking purposes between Valle and the neighboring department of Cauca.

The most important thing is to continue the fight against drug trafficking, in particular, against the expansion of illicit crops, with special emphasis on the Pacific Region,” explains candidate Christian Garcés in the shadow of the ‘narcos’ and armed groups in the department “To achieve this, we propose that through a Draft Legislative Act we regulate Prior Consultation, when it comes to the use of glyphosate. This is to prevent coca-growing communities from blocking the fight against drugs.”

Meanwhile, the Government Secretariat of Cali reported a decrease in homicides in this capital, comparing what has happened in 2022 with the same period in previous years. “A reduction of 11 percent is observed compared to 2021 and 12 percent, compared to 2020,” says the report.

The Police Metropolitana also reported that the authorities continue to implement operations to counteract crimes and make more arrests. Thus, there are actions to find the whereabouts of the 30 most wanted men in the city, investigated for alleged acts of delinquency and criminality.

It is clear that the critical positions of candidates from the Democratic Center for the district president have not only been registered during this campaign for Congress, but also long before, even during the social outbreak that seriously impacted Cali compared to the rest of the cities in the country, during the national strike since April 28 last year.

These questions had to do with the negotiations between the Mayor’s Office and protesters in the face of 33 blockades that Cali had in 2021.

One of the new triggers in the differences of opinion before Mayor Ospina was the controversy that last week sparked off a video released by Daniel García, also a candidate for the Democratic Center for the Senate, in a vehicle that he was driving with Óscar Iván Zuluaga, candidate for president.

In the video, García asks Zuluaga: “What would you do in Cali if you became president?” and his interlocutor replied: “The priority would be to be in Buenaventura, it is more of an underlying problem and then advice from security in Cali to write a clear letter to the mayor that I am the one in charge here”.

Afterwards, García says “And if the mayor does not accept”, the presidential candidate replies: “Well, we send him to hell (…)”.

The candidate Garcés joined this counterpoint, who on his Twitter account states: “Óscar Iván Zuluaga’s message is not for Caleños, it is for you. Jorge Ivan Ospina. I do not agree with the words used by our candidate , but ‘shit’ is what you mayor has given the people of Cali to eat”.

In the Secretariat of Peace and Citizen Culture of Cali they recalled the importance of maintaining tolerance and coexistence with the respect that human beings deserve among themselves.

Ospina has responded that “violent language leads to violence” and that it is not a good example for young people or for those who follow presidential campaigns.

To the candidate Zuluaga, the mayor replies: “Is that the language that should be advanced towards a mayor and his citizens? Is that the way in which the idea of ​​doing things in a political campaign should be challenged? Do you know that violent language leads to violence?

Ospina also tells him: “Not only is there a mistake in the way you address the popularly elected mayor of a city, but you contradict the way in which a political campaign should be carried out. I call you all to the idea campaigns, to the battles that they propose (…) I call on all of you to respect our city, to disarm the spirit, to respect our city”.

Likewise, the candidate Velasco has also referred to other issues related to Cali and Mayor Ospina.

(Also: How would the seats for the House of Representatives for the Valley look?)

“What was an open secret: the mayor of Cali is at the service of Petro. That’s why his complacency with the first line, that’s why his unequivocal intention to promote chaos and stigmatize private enterprise,” the candidate published last 11 February on Twitter, due to the adherence of Mauricio Ospina, brother of the mayor of Cali, to Gustavo Petro’s campaign.

“Today it is absolutely clear to us that the Ospina mayor’s office is in the service of Petro, his brother and all the congressional candidates who joined this campaign.
Is that why he was so permissive during the stoppage and helped the front line?
It couldn’t be clearer!” Velasco says on his social network.

Both Velasco and Garcés agree that they have been ensuring that Cali does things in an appropriate manner and therefore their critical position before the Mayor’s Office.

But in addition to looking at security, other aspects in Cali are also of concern to the Democratic Center candidates. One is mobility.

“The management of the Secretary of Mobility of Cali is simply unfortunate. Last night (February 9) more than 200 motorcycles, many without helmets, once again took over the streets of Cali in total anarchy. Secretary if he is very busy doing politics resign,” says Velasco on his Twitter account.

‘More employment and popular credit’

Garcés and Velasco also maintain their concern about employment issues, reactivation and the economy due to the impact of inflation.

“I spent more than 18 years in the private sector. Today as a Senator I am pushing for a Colombia with vigorous companies, strong families and quality education,” says Velasco.

Given what they consider to be a serious food inflation, Garcés said that he asked the Minister of Agriculture, Rodolfo Zea Navarro, to put into operation the Economic Fund that the Chamber managed within the Bank to support small and medium-sized producers in this situation. “We have surveillance from @sicsuper to avoid speculation,” says the applicant.

In his management, Garcés defends: “Thanks to the Environmental Crimes Law that we support with our positive vote, the Prosecutor’s Office and judges have greater legal tools to prosecute this type of act that destroys the environment. We condemn the deforestation of the Amazon!

Garcés has also been promoting with Velasco to carry out the popular credit proposal to get thousands of Colombians out of the ‘drop by drop’.

(You may be interested: These are the candidates for the House of Representatives for the Valley)

“We will support micro-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs who generate employment with secure loans and State support.”

“We must focus our efforts so that the economic recovery we are experiencing today translates into more income and formal jobs,” adds Garcés.

The duo has reached Toro, Bolívar and other cities in the north of Valle del Cauca, as well as Dagua or Palmira.

“I remembered the bakery that my father had in Palmira. It was the engine of our family, thanks to my parents we learned values ​​education and to work hard. That is why today camel for strong families, quality education and vigorous companies,” says Velasco, who He was a manager at Andi in the Valley.

Gabriel Velasco, lawyer and son of a merchant

Gabriel Velasco is a lawyer from the Universidad de los Andes, with a specialization in Business Administration from the Universidad Icesi, in Cali.

He studied with diplomas in Integral Logistics from SINTEC Mexico, and Reinventing Leadership from the Kellogg Management School of North Western University in Chicago.

He was president of Andi in the Valley, as well as director of a dairy products company.

He also held the vice presidency of Metrocali, the firm that guides the actions of the MIO public transportation system in Cali.

Christian Garcés also sought Governorship

Christian Garcés wants to repeat in the House of Representatives.

He is a politician and business administrator from the Icesi University of Cali. He has a specialization in Social Management from the Javeriana University and a master’s degree in Strategic Thinking and Foresight from the Externado de Colombia University.

He began his political career at the age of 15, as a representative of the La Colina Gymnasium school in Cali.

At the age of 26, he was a councilor in the capital of Valle del Cauca.

He has served as deputy for Valle del Cauca, director of departmental planning, governor in charge, manager of the Regional Competitiveness Commission.

He sought to be governor reaching 357,400 votes.

He reached the House of Representatives in the last period for Valle del Cauca with 41,600 votes.

CALI

The controversies of leaders of the Democratic Center for security in Cali - Cali - Colombia

The vallecaucanos Gabriel Velasco Y Christian Garces They assure that they are not only united by a friendship that they have been consolidating during their careers in the country’s politics.

They want to repeat the duo in the Congress of the republic for him Democratic Center. Velasco, in the Senateand Garces, in the House of Representatives.

“This Senate and Chamber formula will continue to defend and manage the projects and resources that the Valley del Cauca by the Nation”, says Christian Garcés with his colleague, who have been touring different locations in the department, taking into account that the campaign is getting tighter and time is running out.

The Democratic Center has had two seats since 2018 in the Chamber, when it reached the third best vote to reach this corporation from Valle del Cauca. On that occasion he scored 142,165.

But will he be able to sustain those seats and get a third?

In the Senate there are two more seats for Valle del Cauca. Today, in addition to Velasco, John Hárold Suárez, former mayor of Buga, who also wants to repeat in that corporation, was also elected four years ago.

(Also read: This was answered by Mayor Jorge Iván Ospina to Óscar Iván Zuluaga)

Gabriel Velasco and Christian Garcés, in their campaign as a formula for Congress.

Photo:

From video by @gabrieljvelasco

In the case of Velasco and Garcés, they bet on it once again being the formula to maintain their seats, and security in Cali and Valle del Cauca have been one of the battle horses in this campaign that is getting more and more alive. while questioning the mayor of the city, Jorge Iván Ospina.

Both candidates consider that security in the region has high rates of homicides and other crimes, especially in calli, city ​​where the Ombudsman’s Office issued an early warning in January for the presence of armed groups organized in alliance with forces of the drug trafficking.

Both candidates consider that security in the region has marked rates of homicides and other crimes, especially in Cali

Within the insecurity, the attacks against the Public Force stand out, in the country, as in the southwest, among them, the one that shook the southeast of Cali due to the explosive against a truck with policemen from the Anti-Riot Squad (Esmad) that left 13 uniformed and one civilian injured, on January 8 this year.

In addition, the Ministers of the Interior, Daniel Palacios, and of Defense, Diego Molano, They held a security council at the end of January to analyze the situation and take measures, which included maintaining security with 6,500 police officers and having the support of 2,300 Army soldiers. Likewise, safeguard the corridor of the Cauca River with a river patrol that is used for drug trafficking purposes between Valle and the neighboring department of Cauca.

The most important thing is to continue the fight against drug trafficking, in particular, against the expansion of illicit crops, with special emphasis on the Pacific Region,” explains candidate Christian Garcés in the shadow of the ‘narcos’ and armed groups in the department “To achieve this, we propose that through a Draft Legislative Act we regulate Prior Consultation, when it comes to the use of glyphosate. This is to prevent coca-growing communities from blocking the fight against drugs.”

Meanwhile, the Government Secretariat of Cali reported a decrease in homicides in this capital, comparing what has happened in 2022 with the same period in previous years. “A reduction of 11 percent is observed compared to 2021 and 12 percent, compared to 2020,” says the report.

The Police Metropolitana also reported that the authorities continue to implement operations to counteract crimes and make more arrests. Thus, there are actions to find the whereabouts of the 30 most wanted men in the city, investigated for alleged acts of delinquency and criminality.

It is clear that the critical positions of candidates from the Democratic Center for the district president have not only been registered during this campaign for Congress, but also long before, even during the social outbreak that seriously impacted Cali compared to the rest of the cities in the country, during the national strike since April 28 last year.

These questions had to do with the negotiations between the Mayor’s Office and protesters in the face of 33 blockades that Cali had in 2021.

One of the new triggers in the differences of opinion before Mayor Ospina was the controversy that last week sparked off a video released by Daniel García, also a candidate for the Democratic Center for the Senate, in a vehicle that he was driving with Óscar Iván Zuluaga, candidate for president.

In the video, García asks Zuluaga: “What would you do in Cali if you became president?” and his interlocutor replied: “The priority would be to be in Buenaventura, it is more of an underlying problem and then advice from security in Cali to write a clear letter to the mayor that I am the one in charge here”.

Afterwards, García says “And if the mayor does not accept”, the presidential candidate replies: “Well, we send him to hell (…)”.

In this counterpoint the candidate Garcés joined, who in his Twitter account, states: “The message of Óscar Iván Zuluaga is not for the people of Cali, it is for you. Jorge Ivan Ospina. I do not agree with the words used by our candidate , but ‘shit’ is what you mayor has given the people of Cali to eat”.

In the Secretariat of Peace and Citizen Culture of Cali they recalled the importance of maintaining tolerance and coexistence with the respect that human beings deserve among themselves.

Ospina has responded that “violent language leads to violence” and that it is not a good example for young people or for those who follow presidential campaigns.

To the candidate Zuluaga, the mayor replied: “Is that the language that should be advanced towards a mayor and his citizens? Is that the way in which the idea of ​​doing things in a political campaign should be challenged? Do you know that violent language leads to violence?

Ospina also tells him: “Not only is there a mistake in the way you address the popularly elected mayor of a city, but you contradict the way in which a political campaign should be carried out. I call on all of you to idea campaigns, to the battles that they propose (…) I call on all of you to respect our city, to disarm the spirit, to respect our city”.

Likewise, the candidate Velasco has also referred to other issues related to Cali and Mayor Ospina.

(Also: How would the seats for the House of Representatives for the Valley look?)

“What was an open secret: the mayor of Cali is at the service of Petro. That’s why his complacency with the first line, that’s why his unequivocal intention to promote chaos and stigmatize private enterprise,” the candidate published last 11 February on Twitter, due to the adherence of Mauricio Ospina, brother of the mayor of Cali, to Gustavo Petro’s campaign.

“Today it is absolutely clear to us that the Ospina mayor’s office is in the service of Petro, his brother and all the congressional candidates who joined this campaign.
Is that why he was so permissive during the stoppage and helped the front line?
It couldn’t be clearer!” Velasco says on his social network.

Both Velasco and Garcés agree that they have been ensuring that Cali does things in an appropriate manner and therefore their critical position before the Mayor’s Office.

But in addition to looking at security, other aspects in Cali are also of concern to the Democratic Center candidates. One is mobility.

“The management of the Secretary of Mobility of Cali is simply unfortunate. Last night (February 9) more than 200 motorcycles, many without helmets, once again took over the streets of Cali in total anarchy. Secretary if he is very busy doing politics resign,” says Velasco on his Twitter account.

‘More employment and popular credit’

Garcés and Velasco also maintain their concern about employment issues, reactivation and the economy due to the impact of inflation.

“I spent more than 18 years in the private sector. Today as a Senator I am pushing for a Colombia with vigorous companies, strong families and quality education,” says Velasco.

Given what they consider to be a serious food inflation, Garcés said that he asked the Minister of Agriculture, Rodolfo Zea Navarro, to put into operation the Economic Fund that the Chamber managed within the Bank to support small and medium-sized producers in this situation. “We have surveillance from @sicsuper to avoid speculation,” says the applicant.

In his management, Garcés defends: “Thanks to the Environmental Crimes Law that we support with our positive vote, the Prosecutor’s Office and judges have greater legal tools to prosecute this type of act that destroys the environment. We condemn the deforestation of the Amazon!

Garcés has also been promoting with Velasco to carry out the popular credit proposal to get thousands of Colombians out of the ‘drop by drop’.

(You may be interested: These are the candidates for the House of Representatives for the Valley)

“We will support micro-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs who generate employment with secure loans and State support.”

“We must focus our efforts so that the economic recovery we are experiencing today translates into more income and formal jobs,” adds Garcés.

The duo has reached Toro, Bolívar and other cities in the north of Valle del Cauca, as well as Dagua and Palmira.

“I remembered the bakery that my dad had in Palmira. It was the engine of our family, thanks to my parents we learned values ​​education and hard work. That’s why today camel for strong families, quality education and vigorous companies,” says Velasco, who He was a manager at Andi in the Valley.

Gabriel Velasco, lawyer and son of a merchant

Gabriel Velasco is a lawyer from the Universidad de los Andes, with a specialization in Business Administration from the Universidad Icesi, in Cali.

He studied with diplomas in Integral Logistics from SINTEC Mexico, and Reinventing Leadership from the Kellogg Management School of North Western University in Chicago.

He was president of Andi in the Valley, as well as director of a dairy products company.

He also held the vice presidency of Metrocali, the firm that guides the actions of the MIO public transportation system in Cali.

Christian Garcés also sought Governorship

Christian Garcés wants to repeat in the House of Representatives.

He is a politician and business administrator from the Icesi University of Cali. He has a specialization in Social Management from the Javeriana University and a master’s degree in Strategic Thinking and Foresight from the Externado de Colombia University.

He began his political career at the age of 15, as a representative of the La Colina Gymnasium school in Cali.

At the age of 26, he was a councilor in the capital of Valle del Cauca.

He has served as deputy for Valle del Cauca, director of departmental planning, governor in charge, manager of the Regional Competitiveness Commission.

He sought to be governor reaching 357,400 votes.

He reached the House of Representatives in the last period for Valle del Cauca with 41,600 votes.

CALI

Elections 2022: Young strike leaders go for a seat in the Antioquia Chamber - Candidates - Elections 2022

Susana Gómez Castaño, better known as Susana Boreal, left anonymity behind on May 5 of last year when he surprised himself by directing, in the midst of the national strike, an orchestra of 400 musicians in the Parque de Los Deseos.

That day, this young orchestra conducting student at the University of Antioquia managed with her baton to make the musicians raise their instruments in protest and that those who were gathered there that afternoon were infected with a peaceful emotion.

(You may be interested: Stepfather kidnapped an eight-year-old boy in Medellín)

After the video in which she appears directing the unusual concert from an improvised stage was viralized, she received proposals from leaders of different parties inviting her to be part of their political hosts.

She decided to risk it for Human Colombia, today converted into the Historical Pact headed by Gustavo Petro. And he did it because he finds in the ideology of this movement affinity with his thought. She is number 2 on the list and to get there she hopes to get 180,000 votes.

Although she has dedicated herself to music since she was a child, playing violin, piano, bandoneon, guitar and lyrical singing, the greatest motivation she has for becoming involved in politics was a tragedy. Her older sister was murdered by her husband four years ago and this marked her. She had 11 children and was a victim of harassment, physical and psychological abuse and, despite the fact that she reported what was happening to her at police stations, they never paid attention to her.

Susana Boreal, candidate for the Chamber.

Photo:

Esneyder Gutierrez

His parents and four other sisters had to take care of the children, even without the economic conditions to assume responsibility. Also the difficulties that she experienced as an artist and as a woman in a macho environment, gave her the strength to fight for women’s rights.

Precisely, delegating to Congress intends to support the decriminalization of abortion and that women have the guarantees to do it safely and free of charge. Likewise, it proposes action against gender violence, also avoiding femicide will be key and access to training on sexual and reproductive rights for women living in rural areas.

Susana began studying pure mathematics at the University of Antioquia, then she turned to music, beginning with lyrical singing for seven semesters. Later, she switched to conducting. She was on an exchange for a year in Belgium, where she studied choral and orchestral music conducting. She returned to Medellin and is only missing the graduation recital to finish her academic studies.

Susana sees in culture and art a fundamental part of the integral formation of any human being, “because through this society can become a set of sentient beings and with this people would not use violence to express their thoughts ”, he assures.

For this, he proposes that artistic training be done from basic education, providing infrastructure, trained personnel and resources; strengthen the houses of culture and formalize street artists, both in rural and urban areas.

With regard to youth, his idea is to build a more sensitive society from diversity, resignifying public spaces and monuments, that the State recognizes responsibility and participation in the acts of violence committed by the public force in the framework of the strike national and in the armed conflict. It will seek for this to be done through programs, monuments and cultural and artistic projects in which young people have been included.

(You can also read: Candidates for the Chamber of Antioquia talk about regional issues)

an objector

Another of the candidates that emerged after last year’s social protests is the social and community leader Jerson Jader González Marulanda, better known as Kannabic Objector.

Kanábico is 30 years old and considers himself a youth actor. He is the son of a feminist woman, Marta Cecilia Marulanda Salas, who has been in community work for more than 49 years. And because of this, Kanábico was linked from an early age in politics where he was trained in human rights, pacifism, local planning and development, community organization, among other aspects that allowed him to understand politics and politics.

His adolescence was key to meeting and reaffirming himself politically with the ideological constructions of antimilitarism and rebelliousness. In addition, of the mobilization scenarios such as the last strikes and the social outbreaks that the country has experienced and from where he has been in defense of human rights and social activism.

Its political purpose is to contribute to the reconstruction and redignification of the country, “a fight to improve the issue that few had a lot, and many that had little, I say this because I lived it and understood it as a duty, ”says Kanábico.

Although his aspirations have always been to become a councilor in Medellín, he decided to aspire to the House of Representatives for Antioquia, endorsed by the Historical Pact where he feels identified.

Kanábico’s proposals is that the social state of law can really be applied. For this, he proposes to rethink the role of the police and military forces, that they be allowed to carry out a task that is in tune with what they are: the Army to defend national sovereignty and that its presence and action be on the border, not in cities. , urban centers or towns, and the Police that apply their role in coexistence and work with the communities and that is attached to the Ministry of the Interior and not to the Ministry of Defence.

(We suggest you read: The occurrences of drivers who violate the peak and license plate in Medellín)

Jader González Marulanda, better known as Kanábico Objector.

Photo:

Esneyder Gutierrez

A victim of the conflict

On the other hand, the young candidate Jefferson Echevarry27 years old, says that he was a victim of the armed conflict when, barely a year old, his father was assassinated.

Echeverri was motivated to get into politics by helping less favored families, because a few years ago, when he tried to start a business to support his own, he ran into the obstacle that he couldn’t start a business in public space and there were permits, despite wanting to carry out all the necessary paperwork.

That situation was the opposite to the point of wanting to fight for other people who were going through the same situation, “I felt that the State was against people who wanted to work, even if it was in the informal sector, and even more so with many of us who were even victims. of violence,” says Echeverry.

Jefferson Echeverry, young candidate.

Photo:

Esneyder Gutierrez

For this reason, initially he fought to be part of a political group and managed to be a candidate for the Municipal Youth Council (CMJ). Now in his candidacy hand in hand with the Historical Pact, he seeks to represent young people from the perspective that the proposals do not they are designed for a four-year government, but rather a 16-year project.

His proposals are based on the legalization of marijuana and the coca leaf. “The plants are not bad, they are plants with healing and ancestral properties that even their benefits are approved by science and this could bring us development and the long-awaited peace,” says the young candidate.

It also wants to strengthen free education for all, but in an integral way, with resources for transportation, food, among other conditions so that students can prepare themselves in an integral way and then they can be young people who help the progress of society.

ESNEYDER GUTIERREZ
FOR THE TIME
MEDELLIN

More news from Colombia

-Comptroller confirms detriment for more than $ 41 billion in Essmar

-Crimes in Córdoba have doubled so far in 2022

-Shame: crooked double yellow line on Montes de María national road

Threats against social leaders of Cesar, tarnish electoral campaign - Other Cities - Colombia

A new pamphlet circulates in the department of Cesar in which threaten several people. bullying is against Luis Aguilar de Curumaní and Jimmy Herazo de Pelaya, calling them “promoting leftist, communist and revolutionary political forces” in these areas of the Colombian Caribbean.

(Also: Murder of young people terrorizes the south of Córdoba)

“They have been declared military objectives for our organization and we will begin to act against them and their lives, because they threaten the democratic security of the state,” reads the pamphlet signed by the alleged Black Eagles.

National early warning for social leaders

Under the protection of this alert we have been following up on the case of Herazo, who had a relative killed and he associated him with these threats to intimidate him.

Herazo has been the victim of threats on other occasions, for several cases of land restitution in Pelaya.

From the Ombudsman’s Office there is a National early warning for social leaders, whose process is being monitored.

“The government has been ordered to take measures and actions. Under the protection of this alert, we have been following up on the case of Herazo, who had a relative killed and he associated him with these threats to intimidate him,” highlighted a source from the Defender.

(Also: Five children and one adult missing after boat crash)

The warnings in these pamphlets took Luis Aguilar, a law student, by surprise, who requested the necessary support from the pertinent authorities since his life is at risk.

“This is the first time that they have threatened me. Which surprises me, because in my house nobody is a politician. Everything comes because I commented in a meeting that the current political class does not represent us. Now, irresponsibly, these pamphlets are circulating and exposing us danger. I want the authorities to guarantee us the right to live in peace and freedom of expression,” stressed Aguilar.

Ludys Ovalle Jacome
Special for Weather
Valledupar

More news in Colombia

Car bomb in Padilla, Cauca, leaves four injured

Mass robbery in a Medellin restaurant during a birthday celebration

Daniel Quintero: the letter of cultural and political leaders against him - Medellín - Colombia

In a letter, 133 cultural leaders, citizens and politicians from Medellin expressed their disagreement with the mayor of that city, Daniel Quintero. “Medellin deserves another mayor”, is the title of the letter, in which the signatories say that the local president has
“disappointed”.

(Also: Trip to Miami, taunts to the GEA and the media, new inquiries against Quintero)

“Those of us who sign these notes join the concerns of many
people because of what is happening today with the mayor and the mayor’s office of Medellin, which
can be summed up in two facts: the loss of confidence in the mayor’s office and its mayor, and the
loss of spaces for conversation and collective construction,” it reads.

(You can read: The three investigations carried out by the Attorney General’s Office against Daniel Quintero)

Among the criticisms of the president, they point out that Quintero “destroys confidence in the public, by governing with lies and with the worst of politics: the negotiation of positions and contracts for the benefit of private sectors close to the darkest political clans of the city. and the country.”

In addition, they assure that the “recent transformation process in Medellin” has been ignored and they blame it for ignoring the work that different sectors of society have done together. “In the worst years of our violence, all those sectors were able to sit down together, based on our differences, to build common paths,” they explain.

(You can read: Daniel Quintero: recall committee challenged guardianship and will denounce the mayor)

Daniel Quintero, Mayor of Medellin

Photo:

Medellin’s town hall

The signatories also point out that Quintero is not “progressive” or “independent.” They affirm that he had the opportunity to “go down in the history of Medellin as a good mayor” for having obtained the highest vote in the history there and for the possibility – already wasted, they say – of “continuing and improving the main programs and projects that Medellín has managed to achieve because it has a solid institutional framework”.

Another of the points that they reject is the “political management” of: Public Companies of Medellin, the Good Start program, INDER, Metroparks and the Botanical Garden. Additionally, they criticize him for “confronting private companies (…) by classifying them as mafia” in order, as they say, “to open space for some of these companies to be bought by foreign capital.”

Added to the above are criticisms of the management of garbage collection and the reduction of the budget of the Ministry of Culture.

Finally, those who signed the letter conclude that in the city “the deterioration in the quality of life is evident, further aggravated by the pandemic. But the path chosen by Quintero does not lead us to assume, confront or resolve these problems and needs. Quite the opposite: their way of governing puts us at high risk as a city and as a society”.

(You can continue reading: Daniel Quintero celebrated the millionaire payment of Mapfre to EPM)

You can read the full letter below:

US, German Leaders to Discuss Ukraine Crisis

U.S. President Joe Biden hosts German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for a White House meeting Monday that is likely to be dominated by efforts to deter a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The two NATO members have expressed support for bolstering NATO troop positions in the eastern part of the alliance, with the United States ordering extra forces to Poland and Romania and Scholz saying Sunday he was open to strengthening a German-led battlegroup in Lithuania.

The United States has also been delivering military aid to Ukraine, including ammunition and anti-tank missiles. To the frustration of some NATO allies, Germany has declined to extend its support to include lethal weapons, with the government citing a policy of not sending such arms into conflict zones.

Another potential point of contention is Germany’s reliance on Russian energy supplies and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project that is designed to bring Russian natural gas to Germany.

FILE – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The United States, among others, has viewed the pipeline as part of the deterrence of a Russian attack on Ukraine, saying an invasion would mean the end of the project.

Scholz told German broadcaster ARD ahead of his trip to Washington that in terms of the pipeline, “We have considered all measures and there is nothing that is ruled out.”

In addition to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the White House said Biden and Scholz would discuss several other issues, including climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

German Leader's Stance on Russia Looms Over First Visit to US

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz set off Sunday for Washington seeking to reassure Americans that his country stands alongside the United States and other NATO partners in opposing any Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Scholz has said that Moscow would pay a “high price” in the event of an attack, but his government’s refusal to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine, bolster Germany’s troop presence in Eastern Europe or spell out which sanctions it would support against Russia has drawn criticism abroad and at home.

“The Germans are right now missing in action. They are doing far less than they need to do,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat and member of the Armed Services Committee, recently told an audience of Ukrainian Americans in his state, Connecticut.

This sentiment was echoed by Republican Sen. Rob Portman, who questioned why Berlin hadn’t yet approved a request to let NATO member Estonia pass over old German howitzers to Ukraine. “That makes no sense to me, and I’ve made that very clear in conversations with the Germans and others,” Portman told NBC.

Ahead of his trip, Scholz defended Germany’s position not to supply Kyiv with lethal weapons but insisted that his country is doing its bit by providing significant economic support to Ukraine.

Asked about the future of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that seeks to bring Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine, Scholz refused to make any explicit commitments.

“Nothing is ruled out,” he told German public broadcaster ARD.

Germany has come under criticism over its heavy reliance on Russian energy supplies and the gas pipeline has long been opposed by the United States. But it is strongly supported by some in Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party, including former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

The 77-year-old Schroeder is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and heads the shareholders’ committee of Nord Stream AG and the board of directors of Nord Stream 2.

In a move likely to embarrass Scholz ahead of his first official trip to Washington, the Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom announced Friday that Schroeder — who has accused Ukraine of “saber-rattling” in its standoff with Russia — has been nominated to join its board of directors.

Scholz’s spokesman declined repeated requests for comment on Schroeder’s ties to Putin.

Despite Germany’s reluctance to officially put the new pipeline — which has yet to receive an operating permit — on the negotiating table with Russia, the United States has made clear that even without Berlin’s agreement the project is dead should Moscow launch an attack.

“One way or the other, if Russia invades Ukraine, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward,” U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told “Fox News Sunday.”

Scholz will meet President Joe Biden and members of Congress on Monday to try to smooth out differences. The 63-year-old’s performance in Washington could have broad implications for U.S.-German relations and for Scholz’s standing at home.

While former President Donald Trump frequently slammed Germany, accusing it of not pulling its weight internationally, his successor has sought to rebuild relations with Berlin.

“Biden has taken some real risks, including on the the issue of the German-Russian gas pipeline,” said Jeff Rathke, president of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies.

“(Scholz’s) visit to Washington is an opportunity for him to try to turn that page,” said Rathke.

Having succeeded long-time German leader Angela Merkel last year, Scholz also needs to appease doubters at home who accuse him of pulling a diplomatic vanishing act compared to his European counterparts. With the phrase “Where is Scholz?” trending on social media last week, German conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz called for “clear words” from the government on the Ukraine crisis.

“We must rule nothing out as a reaction to a further military escalation,” the leader of Merkel’s center-right bloc said, though he too has been skeptical about sending possible German arms shipments to Ukraine.

Others in Scholz’s three-party governing coalition have struck a harsher tone toward Russia.

Speaking alongside her Russian counterpart in Moscow last month, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of the Green Party branded Russia’s troop deployment at the border with Ukraine a “threat.” She plans to visit Ukraine on Monday and Tuesday and inspect the front line between Ukrainian troops and areas held by Russian-based separatists in the east.

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of the Free Democrats who chairs Germany’s parliamentary defense committee, said Schroeder’s work for Moscow “harms the country he should serve” and suggested removing the privileges he enjoys since leaving office.

Whatever Germany does to support Ukraine will likely come at a cost.

Berlin’s approval of 5,000 helmets for Ukrainian troops last week drew widespread mockery. Kyiv has since asked Germany for more military hardware, including medium-range and portable anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as ammunition.

Meanwhile, some German officials worry that any mention of further sanctions against Russia, let alone a full-blown conflict, could drive up Europe’s already high gas prices. Constanze Stelzenmueller, a specialist on trans-Atlantic relations at the Brookings Institution, noted that Europe will bear the brunt of blowback costs from economic sanctions against Russia.

“You have populists in Europe always looking for ways to exploit political differences and tensions,” she said. “That’s what’s at stake here.”

In an uncharacteristic outburst at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Scholz — who was then Germany’s finance minister — announced that he would be pulling out a figurative “bazooka” to help businesses cope with the crisis by setting aside more than 1 trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) in state aid.

Scholz may need to make a similarly expansive gesture to ease concerns in Washington and beyond, said Rathke.

“Germany is going to have to show that it is not only committed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, but that it’s putting real resources behind it now, not just pointing to what it’s done in the past,” he said.

Social leaders assassinated in Colombia: one homicide every 46 hours - Other Cities - Colombia

The figure revealed by the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace is worrying. In the first 33 days of the year they were assassinated 17 leaders and three signatories of the peace agreement.

The departments with the highest concentration of crimes are Cauca (5) and Arauca (4), followed by Putumayo (2), Nariño (2), Antioquia (1), Meta (1), Casanare (1) Chocó (1).

Seven of these leaders were communal, three indigenous, two environmentalists, one peasant, another land claimant, one civic, one Afro-descendant and one cultural.
For their part, the crimes of the three peace signatories assassinated in this first month of the year have been registered in Arauca, Magdalena and Caquetá.

(You may be interested in: They kill an indigenous person during the burial of two other natives murdered in Cauca)

The murders shocked the country, they were all done savagely. That is the case of José Albeiro Camayo Güetio, an indigenous guard from Cauca, who was murdered in front of children on January 24. Also the case of Luz Marina Arteaga Henao, a doctor by profession and peasant leader, rights defender and land claimant, who disappeared on January 11 and her body was found five days later in the Meta River.

One of the crimes that most shocked the country was that of the 14-year-old environmental leader, Breiner David Cucuñame, who was shot dead in the Las Delicias reservation, Cauca.

(Also: He gave up everything to go into a Chocó jungle to fulfill his dream)

Luz Marina, the land claimant who was silenced

Luz Marina Arteaga, medical professional, peasant leader, defender of rights.

Photo:

Claretian Corporation Norman Pérez Bello

Luz Marina Arteaga Henao was a doctor by profession and a well-known peasant leader, rights defender and land claimant in the Matarratón and El Porvenir process, in the municipality of Puerto Gaitán (Meta).

He led the process of demanding compliance with the sentences STP 16298 of 2015 of the Supreme Court of Justice and SU-426 of 2016 of the Constitutional Court, which orders the National Land Agency (ANT) award them these lands, as well as to the governmental entities the protection of the fundamental rights of historical peasant communities.

She was also an overseer of the program for older adults in Orocué, a municipality of Casanare, a neighbor of Puerto Gaitán, where she was an active participant in the collection of signatures for the revocation process of the mandate of the mayor of Orocué, Monchy Yobany Moreno.

Because of this activism, the Claretiana Norman Pérez Bello and Jurídica Yira Castro corporations, human rights defenders, pointed out, became visible in the area and was the target of threats.

(In context: The lifeless body of a doctor and social leader of the Llano is found in the Meta River)

“He had repeatedly received death threats from people posing as armed actors and telling him to stop fighting for land and not to attend meetings in the framework of the land demand,” they reported.

In 2021, the Claretian Corporation denounced to the Prosecutor’s Office the threat against members of the Porvenir and Matarratón process and of the same human rights organization, as well as surveillance and the attempted kidnapping of one of its members.

On October 2, 2019, two unknown men, approximately 25 and 45 years old, roamed and monitored the El Raudal farm, owned by the leader Luz Marina Arteaga, for a long time.

The strangers asked the people of the community questions about his whereabouts such as: “When are you going to come to the farm? Where is she and when does she communicate with you?

The neighbors also warn that the strangers indicated knowing that the leader had recently been present on the farm, since the place was clean.
This same situation was repeated on October 6, 2019, where the community mentions that three unknown men who were traveling by canoe on the Meta River were looking for her. “These threats were brought to the attention of the different entities headed by President Iván Duque, as well as the National Protection Unit, who were unaware of the seriousness of the situation, assigning them soft measures,” denounce the Claretian Norman Pérez Bello and Jurídica Yira corporations. Castro.

The leader disappeared on January 11, when she left her farm for the urban area of ​​Orocué, Casanare. And her body was found, five days later, lifeless, on the banks of the Meta River.

The guard who sacrificed everything to guard his territory

José Albeiro Camayo Güetio was persecuted by threats, kidnappings and attacks during his life in the indigenous guard of Cauca.

He was 42 years old and was one of the founders of the guard and one of the most courageous defenders of his community.

He had the role of Kiwe, a Nasa name for leaders. For his friends, he was a man who had his courage, a cane and a comb as weapons. He had endured attacks of all kinds. He had murdered a brother and a nephew.

He lived his childhood until adolescence as a student at the Educational Institution for the Intercultural Development of Communities (Inedic), located in the same territory of the Las Delicias reservation, in rural Buenos Aires, where he was born and was murdered.
As a child he was already an indigenous guard, because that was his vocation for the defense of the native territories. He said that his vision was that of an indigenous person who sought to transmit a message of peace, through the wind, the sound and the flute.

He took advantage of a station that was created in Las Delicias to transmit that message of tranquility and harmony to the members of the Las Delicias territory. At the time he continued to work as an indigenous guard.

After finishing processes in the local indigenous guard, he was appointed as guard coordinator at the zonal level of the so-called Cxhab Wala Kiwe, in 2013.

He accompanied this process until 2016 and in 2018 he was appointed coordinator of the entire indigenous guard of northern Cauca until last year.

He wanted the armed groups to respect the indigenous people for more than 10 years, at a time when the Farc had plagued Cauca with guerrilla takeovers and harassment. At that time, the groups that affected the north of the department were the sixth front and the ‘Jacobo Arenas’ column with the ELN and the paramilitaries based in Naya.

The last three years have intensified the attacks of the dissidents that remained after the peace agreement. Camayo, community members say, was the target of intimidation and slander. In August 2019 he was the victim of an attack, when he was traveling on the road between Toribío and Caloto. Two months later he was kidnapped, apparently by dissidents. He was tied to a pole with barbed wire and was later left there.

(In context: What is behind the crime of indigenous leader Albeiro Camayo?)

In April 2020, armed men tried to intercept him in the same Las Delicias reservation when he was in a car, but he managed to escape.

And on January 24, members of the mobile column ‘Jaime Martínez’, from the dissidents, led by ‘Paisa’, arrived to intimidate the population of the Las Delicias reservation, they took Camayo out of his house and he was killed with gunshots. gun in front of children.

The entire guard of his town accompanied him to his grave with songs and their batons, remembering their leader who said: “Many times I endured cold, hunger, loneliness of being away from my children just to defend my territory.”

The young indigenous man who cared for the trees in Cauca

Breiner Cucuñame, 14, was training to be an indigenous guard and dedicate himself to protecting the environment.

Breiner David Cucuñame was just 14 years old when he was assassinated on January 14 by members of the ‘Jaime Martínez’ front of the Farc dissidents, in the Las Delicias reservation, in northern Cauca.

He was the oldest of four brothers, he was in seventh grade, he liked to play soccer, plant trees and ride motorcycles.

Breiner, who was already a member of the Nasa indigenous guard, and his father Samuel had left early from work building a house and on their way home they found that the guard, with their batons, were trying to get out of their territories to a group of dissident youth who were patrolling with their rifles, as they regularly try to do in this area, which had already generated several altercations with the indigenous community.

That day, the discussion between the guard and the dissidents ended in tragedy. Breiner David and Guillermo Chicame, indigenous guard and escort agent of the National Protection Unit, were killed by the armed group.

“We were only interested in getting out of there, out of that fire,” recalls his father, Samuel Cucuñame.

Breiner, says his father, was a happy person, without fear. “He was judicious. Like all children, he had his rebellion in his time and one as a father should advise him “.

“He had a spirit and a body that was not convinced by the violent, that the weapon was the best way out. I want them to remember him as that boy who stood on the line and liked a healthy and calm life”, he points out.

Breiner David was a member of the Student Indigenous Guard, with which he carried out tree planting and river cleaning activities. He was a defender of Mother Earth, the same one where, after a massive ceremony attended by more than 500 people, he has returned.

“Unfortunately, one has to return him so young to mother Earth, but that’s life, unfair sometimes. Still, we have to return it because if nature asked for it at this early age, we cannot fight against the current, ”said his father.

NATION
WITH JUSTICE INFORMATION

US, European Leaders Align Against Russian Invasion Threat

WASHINGTON — 

Russia said Tuesday it is watching “with great concern” following a U.S. move to put 8,500 troops on alert for possible deployment to eastern Europe.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated to reporters Russian accusations that the United States is escalating tensions in the crisis along the Russia-Ukraine border.

U.S. President Joe Biden met virtually Monday afternoon with key European leaders to discuss the ongoing threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“I had a very, very, very good meeting — total unanimity with all the European leaders,” Biden told reporters after hosting a secure video call with allied leaders from Europe, the European Union and NATO.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office released a statement that supported Biden’s summation, saying, “The leaders agreed on the importance of international unity in the face of growing Russian hostility.”

Biden has not decided whether to move U.S. military equipment and personnel closer to Russia. But White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in advance of the meeting with the European officials that the United States has “always said we’d support allies on the eastern flank” abutting Russia.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin placed 8,500 U.S. military personnel on “high alert” of being dispatched to Eastern Europe, where most of them could be activated as part of a NATO response force if Russia invades Ukraine.

FILE – U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pauses while speaking during a media briefing at the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, Nov. 17, 2021.

“It’s very clear the Russians have no intention right now of de-escalating,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “What this is about, though, is reassurance to our NATO allies.”

The White House released a statement after the meeting that said, “The leaders also discussed their joint efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine,

including preparations to impose massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia for such actions as well as to reinforce security on NATO’s eastern flank.”

WATCH: US preps for possible deployment to Europe

Biden has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine if Russia invades the onetime Soviet republic but vowed to impose quick and severe economic sanctions on Moscow.

Kirby said the U.S. military is “keenly focused” on the Russian military’s 127,000-troop buildup along the Ukraine border and in Belarus. He said the United States was “taking steps to heighten readiness over Ukraine,” including for a NATO response force if the Western military forces are activated.

FILE – Ukrainian soldiers stand on a check-point close to the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels, Mariupol, Donetsk region, Jan. 21, 2022.

U.S. and Russian officials have had four face-to-face meetings in the past two weeks over Western concerns about the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine and Russian fears of NATO operations in Eastern Europe, and Biden has also talked directly with European allies.

Russia insists the troops are on the border for its own protection but is demanding NATO provide guarantees it will stop its eastward expansion, beginning with not allowing Ukraine to join the alliance, a move Moscow perceives as a threat. NATO has repeatedly rejected that request, saying Russia has no veto over NATO membership for other countries.

The United States and Russia are planning to exchange written statements this week about their demands of each other.

VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell contributed to this report. Some information also came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.