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Information and analysis bulletin on extractivism here and in Colombia Project Accompaniment Solidarity Colombia April 2020 Assassination of MARCO RIVADENEIRA, Putumayo   Assassination of MARCO RIVADENEIRA, social and political leader in the departement of Putumayo, in Colombia, president of ASO-PUERTO ASÍS, PUTUMAYO. On March 19th 2020 at approximately 2:30 PM,  durring a meeting with campesinos in Nueva Granada, Corredor Puerto Vega - Teteyé, puerto Asís, Three armed men in plainclothes approached and the removed comrade Marco's ribadeneira from the meeting.   Social movements condemn massacre of 23 inmates in Colombian prison   Guards violently attacked prisoners who were participating in a mobilization at  the La Modelo Prison in Bogotá on Saturday, March 21. The mobilization was organized in La Modelo and other prisons in order to demand that the government take immediate measures to ensure the health and safety of the incarcerated population across Colombia.   Colombian workers demand protection from hunger during COVID-19 lockdown   In Bogota, Colombia, hundreds of construction workers gathered to protest the lack of food and other essential items in the midst of the national quarantine. A similar protest was held on March 24 at Plaza Bolivar when locals were angered due to the short notice before the imposition of the lockdown. Many protestors were daily wage workers who feared they would not have enough money to buy food and pay rent during the lockdown.   Colombia’s ELN declares ceasefire amid COVID-19 pandemic   The National Liberation Army (ELN), a revolutionary left-wing armed group in Colombia, declared a unilateral ceasefire for the month of April in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is “a humanitarian gesture from the ELN to the Colombian people, who are suffering from the devastation of the coronavirus,” said the ELN in an official statement.   ESMAD as a kidnapping agency   Dilan’s murder was not an isolated act: it was the predictable outcome of orders given, operational methods adopted, weapons and ammunition issued, and training provided. Dilan became a symbol of national order. The series of excuses given by the government recalls the perverse logic used to explain the deaths of Dimas Torres and Flower Trompeta, both assassinated by the armed forces.  In the streets, after the attack on Dilan, the abolition of the Colombian riot squad — known by its Spanish acronym, ESMAD — became an undying demand on the part of demonstrators around the country.   KAIROS condemns the violence that has been exacerbated by COVID-19 in Colombia   Carlota Isabel Salinas Pérez, a woman human rights defender, was murdered outside her home on the evening of March 24 in San Pablo, a municipality in the department of Bolivar. Carlota was a social leader in her community; in fact, on the same day of her murder, she had been collecting foodstuffs for families in need.  Coastal Gas Link's ongoing construction is putting entire communities at risk!    Please sign and share this petition to shut down man camps throughout the province that are endangering entire northern communities with the spread of COVID-19. While people are warned to remain at home and take precautions due to COVID 19, the oil and gas industry is continuing work on Coastal Gas Link and other pipeline routes, and industry is pushing forward with mega-projects across Canada.    “No prison in Colombia can deal with coronavirus, if they leave us here we are facing the death penalty”   Julián Gil, social leader of Congreso de los Pueblos, talks from prison about the danger faced by thousands of inmates amid the coronavirus pandemic. Julian Gil spoke on the current situation in Colombia’s prisons as a result of the spreading coronavirus crisis and the subsequent recent protests in prisons. These protests took the form of cacerolazos (banging pots and pans), which have been brutally repressed and silenced. Prison guards murdered 23 inmates in the La Modelo prison in Bogotá during one of these protests on March 21. After these events, the authorities are hiding behind the claim of an alleged attempt of mass escape, instead of investigating the events. Des-terres-minées! videos are now available in english !    News about Colombia in english Peoples Dispatch, formerly The Dawn News, is an international media organization with the mission of bringing to you voices from people’s movements and organizations across the globe.  Piedra, it is the rock of resistance, the rock which, placed in the powerfuls’ shoe, bothers. It is the one that, in all its diversity, constitutes our habitat, vital to our existence. It is the rock we throw. And, of course, it is the exploited rock. Extractivism, an economic model based on the exploitation of resources, ravages always increasingly here and elsewhere. It is in “Canada”, on colonized lands, that the majority of mining companies hold their headquarters. As so, the Canadian companies deploy their activities in Colombia in all impunity, and take advantage and participate in the political and social violence that hits this country living in war. --- The Project Accompaniment Solidarity Colombia is a collective which realizes accompaniment with Colombian communities and organizations since 2003, while also creating links here and in Colombia of groups and individuals struggling against the imposition of mega-projects of resource extraction.