...
and shows why the neighboring Venezuela should never surrender to the
US bloody imperialism
Political
killings in Colombia have increased behind the scenes. In 2017 alone,
at least 133 social leaders and activists have been murdered. The
victims of these killings are most frequently leaders and activists
from indigenous rights, coca crop substitution, Afro-Colombian
rights, LGBTQ equality, and labor rights.
Some
have been killed by state forces, but the majority have been carried
out by right-wing paramilitaries which have documented ties to
corporations and the Colombian government.
The UN
high commissioner for human rights reported than more than 60% of the
killings occurred in areas which were once protected by the FARC,
which withdrew its military presence under peace agreement.
In the
past 20 years, over 2,500 trade unionists have been murdered in
Colombia. More than in every other country put together. Every year,
more union workers will be assassinated here than in the whole world
combined.
87% of
trade unionist murders are never brought to justice. 99.9% of death
threats against trade unionists are never going to be investigated by
the authorities.
The
government has played a more direct role beyond just turning a blind
eye to murders. Most recently, ex-paramilitary commanders testified
that under president Uribe, top officials in Colombia's intelligence
agency, including Uribe's intelligence chief, supplied paramilitaries
with a list of trade unionists who were then assassinated.
The
killing of labor activists has a long history in Colombia. In 1928,
the United Fruit company, the US, and the Colombian government
colluded to massacre up to 3,000 striking banana plantation workers
and dumped many of their bodies in the sea.
But the
labor movement remained the strongest in Latin America. In 1988,
nearly one out of ten workers had a union. But at the same time,
right-wing paramilitary forces surged from the US dirty wars, and a
campaign of terror took its toll. Today, only about 0.5% of Colombian
workers are protected by a union contract.
The US
government is a large part of this human rights catastrophe. The
free-trade agreement signed between the US and Colombia in 2006, not
only exacerbates repressive conditions for unions. It reveals how the
US bares legal responsibility.
According
to the American Federation of Labor, since the trade agreement was
signed, workers attempting to exercise their rights have suffered at
least 1,466 acts of violence, including 955 death threats and 99
assassinations between 2006 and 2016.
With
this, the Federation had argued that the US should invoke provisions
in US-Colombia trade deal. But they were rebuffed by the Obama
administration in 2016. As the president of the AFL-CIO reported, "we
were told by the [United States Trade Representative] general counsel
that murdering a trade unionist doesn’t violate these standards,
that perpetuating violence against a trade unionist doesn’t violate
these agreements."
Have you
heard anything about these crimes in Colombia from the hypocrites of
the US government? No, they are just 'concerned' about the 'dictator'
Maduro and human rights violations in the neighbouring Venezuela.
Well,
their huge hypocrisy can be easily explained.
Now
that they got rid of the armed-FARC 'headache', the US corporations
are ready to loot freely Colombia with the aid of the new
paramilitaries. Furthermore, they can focus entirely on their
economic war against Venezuela through Colombia, as explained
by Venezuela's Minister of Economic Planning, Ricardo Menéndez.
Colombia
has now definitely fallen to the hands of the US imperialist hawks.
Next target: Venezuela.
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