September 20, 2004

InfoBrief is a weekly news summary of events in the U.S. and Colombia produced and distributed by the U.S. Office on Colombia. Colombia This Week is reproduced with the kind permission of the ABColombia Group in London. Other sources include U.S. and Latin American newspapers, and reports from non-profit and grassroots groups. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Office on Colombia. If you would like to receive InfoBrief please contact jess_hunter@usofficeoncolombia.org indicating why you would be interested in this weekly news service. Past editions of the InfoBrief can be found at www.usofficeoncolombia.org

Colombian Indigenous March Draws Support from U.S. Organizations In a declaration of support for the “Great Minga for Life, Justice, Joy, Autonomy and Freedom,” nine organizations from across the United States noted the significance of the nonviolent march aimed at promoting indigenous rights, including land and cultural rights. The Minga started in Santander de Quilichao, reaching Cali days later and included tens of thousands of participants from indigenous groups spanning the country. The organizers of the march sought to draw attention to various issues of concern to the indigenous population, including a set of constitutional reforms proposed by the Uribe administration thought to limit freedoms acquired in the 1991 constitution, a free trade treaty with the United States that could endanger indigenous land rights, and particularly the armed conflict which has led to the deaths of many members of Colombia’s indigenous population caught between the actors in the country’s war. The declaration states that it supports the indigenous groups in Colombia who have declined to join any of the armed groups and chosen to remain impartial and nonviolent. While the indigenous population accounts for only about two percent of Colombia’s total populace, estimates suggested that as many as 70,000 people marched in the Minga. The declaration is signed by organizations including the U.S. Office on Colombia, the Center for International Policy, and the American Friends Service Committee. To read the declaration, go to http://usofficeoncolombia.org/signon/minga.pdf

U.S. Official Says Europe Should Provide Aid to Colombia The U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States, John Maisto, said that European nations should provide more aid to Colombia. Maisto, speaking at an event in Colombia, said that European nations ought to “support forward momentum” with foreign aid instead of withholding funds based on concerns over ties between the Colombian Armed Forces and right-wing paramilitary groups. Maisto suggested that “the notion that a problem has to disappear 100 percent before governments will comply with their commitments is not recognizing reality," and he insisted that Europe should not overlook the aid it has pledged to Colombia. According to Maisto, Spain and Britain have provided their pledged aid to Colombia, however they are the exception. He went on to say in a defense policy conference in Cartagena, Colombia that “what the (Colombian) government needs, and needs badly, is more help on the social, economic development, democracy side, and that's where the European contribution, with the exception of the countries I have indicated, has not come on stream.”

Letter to President Uribe Calls for a Civilian Trial in Murder of Three Union Leaders Thirty U.S.-based organizations and unions including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the United Automobile Workers of America signed a letter pressing Colombian President Álvaro Uribe to ensure an immediate and impartial investigation as well as independent autopsies for three union leaders that were allegedly murdered by members of the Colombian Armed Forces in Arauca province. Jorge Prieto, Hector Alirio Martinez, and Leonel Goyeneche were killed on August 5 of this year in what the army originally termed a firefight with rebels but what later investigations by the Attorney General’s Office revealed as extra-judicial executions by members of the security forces. The letter asks President Uribe to “act on behalf of justice” by ensuring that the trial for the three murders be held in civil court so as to guarantee fairness and to maintain credibility since in the past cases involving suspected human rights abuses have not received fair and objective trials in the military justice system. To read the letter, go to http://www.wola.org/Colombia/arauca_murders_signon_091404.pdf

Colombian Government Assumes Control of Cartel-Related Pharmacy Chain The Colombian government seized control of more than 400 Drogas La Rebaja pharmacies across 28 Colombian cities in a major confiscation of properties connected to drug trafficking. According to the head of the Colombian National Drug Directorate, Alfonso Plazas, "this is the most important seizure of assets belonging to the mafia in Colombia's history," referring to the estimated $216 million value of the property seized. The pharmacy chain is one of 23 businesses that the U.S. State Department has listed as fronts for the drug-trafficking Cali cartel run by brothers Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela. Officials said that of the chain’s 4,200 employees, only about 50 will be removed due to their cooperation with the drug cartel.

Colombian Supreme Court Authorizes Extradition of AUC Member The Colombian Supreme Court has authorized the extradition of Juan Carlos Sierra to the United States to face drug-trafficking charges, according to El Tiempo newspaper. Sierra is a member of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), which is considered a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government and is thought to participate in the drug trade in order to support its war against left-wing militant groups in the country. In an unrelated case, U. S. Federal Prosecutors have disclosed that Jose Maria Henao Mejia, the leader of a Colombian group based in Medellín known for trafficking cocaine, has been extradited to the United States. Mejia, also known as “Don Pepe” and “El Viejo”, has been accused of organizing the transportation of large quantities of cocaine to cities including Miami and New York, according to U.S. Attorney David Kelley.

There is no Colombia This Week for the week of 9/20/2004. We apologize for the inconvenience.