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I have been curious about Cuba since 1999 when a friend told me to get there before the United States invaded because there would be a Gap store on every corner. Her photos showed a uniqueness, an old authenticity that I didn’t think I had experienced before. As a long- time wanderlust sufferer, if a highly-regarded worldly friend tells me a place is a “must see,” it goes on the list. I never did my homework about Cuba but rather, like many of us, allowed myself to be fed the random dogma and propaganda from the news. My curiosity lingered, and in 2007 while working for the U.S. government in the Caribbean, I learned the HIV rates in Cuba were thought to be among the lowest in the world. This was largely accomplished through quarantine. If you had HIV, you were segregated. How awful, I thought. What a terrible and demoralizing way to treat people. This rounded out my perceptions about Cuba. A place full of culture and antiquity but drowning in oppression and prejudice. I still wanted to go. In May of this year, while trolling the net for Cuba trips, I discovered Global Exchange; and as crazy luck would have it, Busboys and Poetswas taking a group to Cuba the same week I was free! [editor’s note: Busboys and Poets is a restaurant, bookstore, lounge, and theater in Washington, D.C., founded in 2005 by Andy Shallal. It has been described as a haven for writers, thinkers and performers from America's progressive social and political movements.]

The Cuban government has lifted travel restrictions for its citizens. Yes, you’re reading that correctly…the Cuban government.

Reuters reports that the announcement was made official today in the Cuban state newspaper, Granma. “The government now is set to lift requirements to obtain an exit visa permitting departure from Cuba and a letter of invitation from someone in the destination country. Instead, starting on January 14, Cubans will simply have to show a passport and, if needed, a visa from the country to which they are traveling, Communist Party newspaper Granma said.”

“Here we have two governments and a very standard labor issue with a small group of workers, yet no resolution, which is very disconcerting. If this can’t be resolved, what can we expect to happen in terms of broader protection for labor?”
Lisa Haugaard, Executive Director of the Latin America Working Group

On September 13, 2012 the Washington Office on Latin America, the Latin America Working Group Education Fund, Witness for Peace and the United Steelworkers welcomed Jorge Parra, leader of ASOTRECOL, Association of Injured Workers and Ex-workers of General Motors Colombia, to speak about the group’s struggle protesting their illegal firing from the U.S. - based company.  Claiming they were fired for their work-related injuries, members of ASOTRECOL have been protesting in front of the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, demanding to be reintegrated into the company -and to be fairly compensated for their work-related injuries.

We are often telling you about the dangers faced by Colombian human rights defenders—the email death threats and terrifying phone calls, the funeral wreaths labeled with their names sent to their homes, the trade unionist or land rights activist shot dead.

But there is also much to celebrate in the creativity, bravery and dedication of Colombia's human rights community.  And celebrate they did in September 2012, as Colombian civil society leaders and the international agencies coalition DIAL (Inter-Agency Dialogue on Colombia) launched Colombia's first national human rights prize.

As Colombia moves forward with a peace process, the government’s ability to deliver on restitution and reparations to victims is crucial for construction of a just and lasting peace. Lutheran World Relief and the Latin America Working Group Education Fund, along with our partner Agenda Caribe, toured the Caribbean coast of Colombia, the provinces of Sucre, Bolívar and Córdoba, in June 2012 to investigate whether displaced communities are starting to be able to return to their land and whether the Colombian government’s landmark initiative, the Victims’ and Land Restitution Law, has gotten off the ground. This law aims to provide reparations to victims of the conflict and land restitution or compensation for some of the more than 5 million people who were displaced by violence. It has generated enthusiasm in the international community and raised hopes among survivors of violence in Colombia’s brutal, decades-old conflict. See our full report, Still a Dream: Land Restitution on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast, here.

On Saturday night, September 22th, 2012, after he attended a wedding, Antonio Trejo Cabrera was shot six times. He later died at a Tegucigalpa hospital.  He was the legal representative of the MARCA campesino movement, and in June he had won the historic though still contested judgment in favor of returning three plantations to campesinos in Bajo Aguán.

“Since they couldn't beat him on the courts, they killed him,” said Vitalino Alvarez, a spokesman for Bajo Aguan's peasant movements, cited in an Associated Press story.  Trejo "had denounced those responsible for his future death on many occasions."  Trejo also prepared legal challenges to a proposal by U.S. and Honduran companies to run privately-run charter cities that critics call unconstitutional, as they would skirt national labor and other laws.

One hundred and ten victims of violence from Mexico and human rights activists traveled thousands of miles, caravanning in 2 buses to visit 25 cities across the United States to urge communities from Los Angeles to New York, Tucson to Montgomery to help them stop the horrific violence that is afflicting their families and their country. The Latin America Working Group was proud to join with Global Exchange, Washington Office on Latin America, Drug Policy Alliance, Witness for Peace, Center for International Policy, RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Mennonite Central Committee, and many other partner organizations and faith communities to host this historic caravan as they ended their journey on September 12, 2012 in Washington, DC. and other partners to host this historic caravan as they ended their journey on September 12, 2012 in Washington, DC. 

As peace negotiations seem, we are so glad to hear, once again possible in Colombia, we would like to share this statement from Colombians for Peace (Colombianos y Colombianos por la Paz):

On Tuesday, August 21, 2012, Mexico’s Supreme Court handed down a historic ruling that declared unconstitutional a section of the military code that has been used to grant military courts jurisdiction over all crimes committed by the Mexican armed forces, thereby permitting the military to investigate their own soldiers accused of even torture, rape and extrajudicial execution of civilians and thwarting victims in their efforts to find justice.  

 

 

Featuring:

Joy Olson
Executive Director, WOLA

Sergio Aguayo
Professor, Center for International Studies, El Colegio de Mexico (Mexico City)

Tom Diaz
Senior Policy Analyst, Violence Policy Center

(Speaker from the Caravan for Peace, TBD)

Lindner Family Commons
Elliott School of International Affairs
George Washington University
1957 E Street Northwest
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

To RSVP, please click here.

For more information, please contact Clay Boggs at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Countless families across Mexico have been devastated by drug-related violence, with an estimated 60,000 drug-related deaths since Mexican President Felipe Calderón took office in 2006. In 2011, the son of Mexican poet Javier Sicilia was found murdered, presumably by organized crime gunmen.  Out of this grief, a peace movement in Mexico has emerged. This influential movement has mobilized and united thousands across Mexico to call for an end to the violence,  joining in cross-country marches, holding vigils and processions, and engaging in dialogue with Mexico’s highest political leaders.
 
On August 12, 2012, over 100 members of the Peace Movement crossed the border from Tijuana to San Diego to start a month-long caravan across the United States to raise awareness about violence in Mexico and to engage in dialogue with victims of violence in the United States.
 
The Peace Movement has identified U.S. arms trafficking to Mexico as a critical bi-national issue. According to the ATF, 70 percent of guns recovered by Mexican authorities and submitted for tracing in the past three years are of U.S. origin. The United States must do its part to stop the massive flow of weapons across its borders. If powerful assault weapons are readily available close to the border, they will continue to make their way into the hands of criminal groups.
 
Please join us for this timely and important discussion about the violence in Mexico, arms trafficking from the United States, and the role of the Peace Movement in a bi-national campaign to stem the flow of arms across the border.