SINTRAPETROPUTUMAYO the Putumayo oil workers’ union has reported that on July 22^nd Yesid Calvache, the union’s President, was the target of an assassination attempt.

At 5.00am, unknown assailants tried to hurl a firebomb into his house in Villagarzon, Putumayo department. Fortunately the device did not manage to set fire to the building and Mr Calvache and his family escaped injury.

Colombia can be viewed at the bastion of United States sponsored neoliberalism. Rich in natural resources like coal, gas, and gold- the history and success of extractive industries in Colombia are a testament to globalization's remarkable ability to seek out and penetrate new markets. For most of the 20th century, the developed world's inexhaustible consumption habits have fueled the multinational business of extractives, all the while wreaking havoc on largely rural, Afro-Colombian communities.

The price of gold is rising for the tenth consecutive year. As a result, more and more investors, financial market operators and central banks are turning to gold as a safe haven in the face of global economic instability. This has troubling consequences, because gold mining is one of the most destructive and polluting of all mining activities.

`The despoliation of the land is spreading itself, (while) foreign investments, such as the mining industy and the African palm culture, are strenghtening. The growth of these industries is directly related to the forced displacements of local populations. Approximately 32% of the 280 000 displaced people who registered in Columbia in 2010, were likely coming from zones where these two economic activities have progressed significantly.' Jorge Rojas, director of the Human Rights and Displacements Counsel.

According to reports from SER, the Risaralda teacher trade union, environmental campaigner and teacher Jorge Eliecer de los Rios was assassinated by gunmen on Wednesday 8^th June. He was shot several times from a motorbike as he was going from one building to another of the Santa Sofia School, in Dosquebradas, in the city of Pereira, Risaralda where he taught social sciences.

Gold prices have surged in recent years. As a result of the 'investor friendly' climate promoted by the Colombian government’s 'democratic security' policies, multinationals have been awarded mining rights to extensive areas of the country. Many of these areas cover national parks, and lands inhabited by Indigenous, Afro-Colombian and peasant communities, who will be displaced to make way for the mining companies.

How a Colombian city united against gold greed

BUCARAMANGA, COLOMBIA—Spirits were high last month among students, environmentalists, businesspeople, and politicians as the news came in that Greystar Resources had revoked its application for a large-scale open-pit gold mine in the mountains of northeastern Colombia.

But just twelve hours later, Greystar’s intentions became clear—it was withdrawing that application to bring in a new one for a redesigned, underground mine.