Colombia

Colombia's indigenous peoples continue to face grave threats in the era of the country's new President Juan Manual Santos. The struggle to control Colombia's lucrative natural resources has helped spur the country's decades-long civil war and is a central consideration of U.S. foreign policy for the region.More »

Colombia's Road to Extinction

Current Threats Facing Colombian Indigenous Peoples

May 9, 2012 | Blog Post

Indigenous groups in Colombia continue to face unjust violence, colonization, dispossession of lands, displacement due to armed conflict and climate change, stunted recovery and development due to ethnic discrimination, forced assimilation, and cultural degradation.More »

Amazon Watch's 2012 Priorities

Spring 2012 | Campaign Update

Learn more about the biggest issues facing the Amazon rainforest and its indigenous peoples in 2012 and how Amazon Watch is focusing on them.More »

Notes from Bogotá: The U'wa Solidarity Campaign

February 24, 2012 | Blog Post

Claudia Cobaría of the U'wa relates the threats of oil and gas extraction to Mount Cocuy, "the lungs of water." "The snowcapped mountain is a source of life, the connection we U'wa have with the ocean and the rest of the planet."More »

Many Thanks from All of Us at Amazon Watch!

November 23, 2011 | Blog Post

In the spirit of giving thanks, we made this short video to thank you for your love and support of Amazon Watch's work to defend the Amazon and advance the rights of indigenous peoples.More »

Stop the Colombia Free Trade Agreement!

October 10, 2011 | Blog Post

Is it ironic or supremely appropriate that this Columbus Day the U.S. Congress will vote on a free trade agreement that has been called "a serious threat against the indigenous peoples that inhabit Colombian territory"?More »

People over Profit: The US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement

July 11, 2011 | Blog Post

Amazon Watch and many others protested in front of the White House today. Let your elected officials know that you're a part of a large citizen movement opposing this harmful trade agreement!More »

Hundreds Gather Outside the White House to Protest the Colombia Free Trade Agreement

July 11, 2011 | Free Speech Radio News

As Congress inches closer to passing free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia, activists opposed to the agreements are gearing up for a fight. Hundreds gathered outside the White House on Monday to protest the Colombia free trade agreement, which they say will kill jobs here, and threaten communities in Colombia.More »

Undelivered Promises

A U.S.-Colombia trade pact would not address, and might even reward, paramilitary violence

July 2011 | Sojourers Magazine

For the past five years, Colombia's abysmal labor rights record has led congressional Democrats to freeze the proposed U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. In April, Presidents Obama and Santos defrosted the trade agreement, announcing a "Labor Action Plan" that details steps Colombia has committed to take in the coming months. Based on these promises, the TPA is likely to come up for a vote in the U.S. Congress before the end of 2011.More »

Colombia's U'wa Face New Threats

U'wa Indigenous Group Confront New Threats to their Lives and Territory

January 2011 | Report

Known as "the people who speak", the U'wa are a peaceful Indigenous community of roughly 6,200 people who live in the cloud forest of northeastern Colombia, straddling the border with Venezuela. They have fought against oil development on their land for over 15 years. More »

U'wa Return to California

September 30, 2010 | Photo Gallery

Colombian indigenous leaders from the U'wa people visited friends old and new in San Francisco and Los Angeles in late September of 2010.More »