Action Center - Latin America Working Group

Write a Letter to the Editor: Don't Break Colombia's Heart

by Vanessa Kritzer and Lisa Haugaard on September 11, 2009

$800,000 on hearts.

You heard that right. With a massive humanitarian crisis on their hands, the Colombian government is spending $800,000 on an installation of more than forty, 8-13 ft tall heart sculptures in DC and New York this fall. This campaign, called "Colombia Is Passion," was supposedly designed to educate Americans about the "real" Colombia, a fun and beautiful country in which violence and human rights abuses are a thing of the distant past.

At this point, you might be asking, "Why this? Why now?"

:2009, Action Alerts

Going Off Base: An Ousted U.S. Considers Moving Military Bases to Colombia

by Millie Moon on August 04, 2009

Why is the United States expanding its military bases in Colombia?
What does this mean for U.S.-Colombia relations?
What does this mean for the region?

These are the questions on the lips of many Latin American leaders and activists as they react to the deal under works between Colombia and United States that would grant the U.S. military access to at least five additional Colombian military bases. This deal with Colombia comes quickly after Ecuador decided to end its agreement with the U.S. that allowed the U.S. military access to the Manta airbase on Ecuador’s Pacific coast.

:2009, Blog Posts, Colombia

Protest in the Streets of DC Sends a Message to Obama on Colombia

by Millie Moon and Vanessa Kritzer on July 02, 2009

“Money for the victims, money for the displaced. No more money for murder and waste!” Chanted the crowd gathered outside the White House on Monday, June 29th. Inside, Colombian President Uribe was trying to get the same approval from President Obama that he received from the Bush Administration, and activists from around the city came to make sure that he would not get it. Attracting media attention and stopping traffic, they exposed the human rights abuses committed by the Colombian military and demanded that the U.S. change its policies to support victims of the ongoing violence.

:2009, Blog Posts, Colombia, Vanessa Kritzer

Colombia: From Making Dolls to Making Policy Change

by Vanessa Kritzer on August 03, 2009

:Advocate Articles

Far Worse Than Watergate

by Lisa Haugaard and Millie Moon on June 25, 2009

As President Uribe visits the White House, the scandal regarding the Colombian intelligence agency Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad (DAS) is widening daily. According to Colombia’s Attorney General, over the last seven years the DAS systematically and without warrants tapped the phones and email of Colombia’s major human rights groups, prominent journalists, members of the Supreme Court (including the chief justice and the judge in charge of the parapolitics investigation), opposition politicians, and the main labor federation. Not only did DAS personnel spy on their targets, they spied on their families. This includes taking photos of their children, investigating their homes, their finances, and their daily routines. DAS even wrote a detailed manual of spying methods for personnel to follow.

:2009, Blog Posts, Colombia, Lisa Haugaard

Obama Hears Our Message on Colombia, But Now We Need Action

by Vanessa Kritzer and Lisa Haugaard on July 09, 2009

Well, it wasn't the ringing call for respect for human rights and freedom of expression that we longed for --that's for sure. But when President Obama met with Colombian President Uribe on June 29th, it was clear that he had been listening to our message on Colombia.

:2009, Action Alerts

Uribe's First Visit to the Obama White House

by Travis Wheeler, Vanessa Kritzer, and Lisa Haugaard on June 24, 2009

So it's going to happen. Colombian President Uribe will make his first visit to the Obama White House next Monday to discuss the future of Plan Colombia and the stalled U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with President Obama. While the two leaders met at the Summit of the Americas in April, this could be the moment when President Obama makes clear his positions on Colombia. It's up to us to use this opportunity to make sure that he sets the right course from the get-go by making human rights a priority in U.S. policy towards Colombia.

:2009, Action Alerts