PBI-Canada shares update on violence at Canadian-owned oil field in Putumayo, Colombia

Danilo Rueda from Justice and Peace will speak on a PBI convened webinar this Thursday. To register for that, please click here.

On May 31, Justice and Peace Colombia issued this statement that documents the killing of a campesino and the wounding of an Indigenous Nasa leader during a protest against the Canadian company Gran Tierra in Putumayo.

Their May 31 statement notes:

“Today at 5:30 a.m. in the municipality of Villagarzon, Putumayo department, protesters tried to enter the Costayaco field owned by the oil company Gran Tierra Energy, in order to block its operation.

For two hours there was a confrontation between the demonstrators and the military who protect the camp, in these events Nasa leader Victor Campo was wounded with a firearm and was taken to the hospital in Villagarzon.

At approximately 9:00 a.m. and amid the tension, protesters and human rights organizations met with civil authorities led by Álvaro Arturo Granja Buchelli as governor of Putumayo, in order to seek a way out of the situation.

At approximately 10:20 a.m. while in the Costayaco field the dialogue was taking place between the demonstrators and the governor of the department, the anti-narcotics police attacked peasants and Indigenous peoples, who were approximately 300 meters from the place where the meeting was taking place. Police carried out this attack using tear gas and gunfire.

Around 3:15 p.m. near the Costayaco camp, counter-narcotics police resumed attacks on protesters, with tear gas and gunfire. After 10 minutes of confrontation, peasant Yordan Rosero Estrella was wounded by gunfire and taken to Villagarzon hospital. At 3:34 p.m. Yordan arrived at the hospital without vital signs because of the severity of his injuries.”

The full statement can be read here.

Webinar this Thursday

On Thursday June 3, Danilo Rueda from Justice and Peace will be speaking on a Peace Brigades International convened webinar about the urgent situation in Colombia, including what happened in Putumayo yesterday.

To register for that webinar, please click here.