2008

We're saddened to report that the spouse of an indigenous activist working in Cauca was killed when Colombian soldiers fired shots into his vehicle this past Tuesday. The killing of Edwin Legarda shows that despite recent firings of top military officials, the Colombian government is not doing enough to prevent new civilian killings by the army.

Now that a new President and a new Congress have been elected, you can take action that will help change U.S. policy toward Cuba.

When the Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress contemplated a dramatic expansion in counternarcotics aid to Mexico, also known as the Merida Initiative or Plan Mexico, the LAWG and partner U.S. organizations joined with Mexican human rights organizations to raise concerns and recommendations aimed at pushing the package away from support for Mexico's military, a force that has been linked to serious and ongoing human rights abuses, and towards measures that safeguard human rights, strengthen civilian institutions, and curb domestic drug demand.

 

November 4th marked an historical change for the United States of America. President-elect Barack Obama represents CHANGE on many levels, and many people expect CHANGE in a great many things: the economy, two wars, a planet in peril, etc . . . you know the list by now.

On October 12th, more than 12,000 indigenous Colombians gathered to peacefully protest the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement and the Colombian government's consistent failure to return land obtained by violence to indigenous communities.

Last week, the Colombian government sent an 80-member delegation to Capitol Hill as part of an intensive, last-ditch effort to secure our Congress' support for the stalled U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Today, Colombia's president arrives in Washington, DC to continue this expensive lobbying blitz with the message that all is well with human rights in Colombia.

Hurricane Gustav tore through the Gulf of Mexico earlier in the month and took a particularly devastating toll on Cuba. The storm leveled houses and flooded streets throughout the western provinces of Pinar del Rio and the Isla de Juventud leaving in its path an estimated 500,000 residents without shelter or access to food or water.

The Latin America Working Group's Venezuela policy network is growing, but in order for us to have an influence on U.S. policy we need to keep growing! Help make a difference by telling your friends about this network! Spread the message.

Welcome to the Latin America Working Group's Venezuela Policy e-mail network. You are receiving this message either because you registered online at our website, or you are a recent traveler to Venezuela with one of our partner organizations.  If you do not want to be part of this network, an unsubscribe link is found at the bottom of this page.

Victims and human rights defenders became the targets of a severe wave of threats and violence earlier this year after organizing a peaceful march to call attention to the plight of victims and denounce violence by all actors in Colombia.

A House subcommittee (Financial Services) on June 17th added language to the appropriations bill that would ease travel restrictions for Cuban Americans wishing to visit family and would facilitate agricultural sales to Cuba. The result of the subcommittee meeting is an appropriations bill that allows for Cuban Americans to travel to Cuba once per year and expands the definition of family to include cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

Last year the Congress made many positive changes in U.S. policy towards Colombia—changes that couldn't have been made without committed activists like you picking up the phone, demanding your voice be heard. With the foreign aid subcommittees in the House and Senate set to "markup" their respective bills in mid-July, it's time to call your representative and senators and urge them to stand by Colombia's victims of violence.

We want to begin by thanking you for your generous contributions to our Cuba policy work; we are within a few hundred dollars of reaching our goal! With these kind donations, we are hard at work setting up book parties and travel trainings around the country. If you’d like to be part of this cross-country training effort, be sure to contact us so we can work with you to add your group and location to the schedule.

This past Sunday, thousands rallied in Ciudad Juarez to call for peace in the wake of a recent surge of drug cartel-related violence. The U.S. needs to do its part as well, but the United States should not increase human rights violations by backing the army's role in domestic law enforcement.

Last week, the full House of Representatives approved a resolution to remove “fast track” language from the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement by a vote of 224 to 195. See how your representative voted. Thank your member of Congress if they voted to “stop the clock” on the trade pact. If they voted no, let them know your concerns about the Colombia FTA.

Call your member of Congress today! Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) are circulating a “dear colleague” letter to President Uribe over the recent wave of threats against, and targeted killings of, human rights defenders, trade unionists, and others in Colombia.

At the end of last month, Senators Dodd (D-CT) and Feingold (D-WI) sent a “dear colleague” letter to Secretary of State Rice expressing concern over the increase in civilian killings by the Colombian Army in recent years. Click here to read the letter and here to see if your senators signed it. Many thanks to everyone who called in and wrote emails to their senators—sending a strong human rights message to Secretary Rice would not have been possible without our collective efforts!

We hope that you have been keeping up with the news on Cuba (one great source is through signing up for weekly news reviews from CubaCentral.com ), as Cuba has been getting a lot of ink in the past couple of weeks. We last sent you an update on February 19 with the news about Fidel's resignation. Since then, as you certainly know, Cuba has a new President, the Bush Administration has reacted predictably, and Congress is making noise about re-visiting U.S.-Cuba policy-with an eye to revising it. House Letter, Senate Letter

By now you have seen the news - Fidel Castro announced early this morning that he will not seek or accept the position of President or Commander and Chief of Cuba. His announcement comes less then a week before Cuba's National Assembly is scheduled to meet to vote for the next President of the island.

Call your senators today! Senators Dodd and Feingold are currently circulating a “dear colleague” letter to Secretary of State Rice expressing concern over the alarming increase in killings by the Colombian army. Click here to read the letter.

Many of the changes in aid to Colombia that you contacted your members of Congress about in 2007 became law when the president signed the all-rolled-into-one spending bill on December 26. While still very far from the perfect world we dream about, the law makes some positive changes in U.S. aid and policy towards Colombia.