PBI-Colombia accompanies Nomadesc at ceremony in memory of Michael Joan Vargas López killed during the national strike

On May 23, PBI-Colombia tweeted:

“We accompany @Nomadesc in #Yumbo at the catholic and ancestral ceremonies in memory of Michael Joan Vargas López, having passed on May 17, one year since the murder of the young man in the framework of the national strike.”

Las2Orillas has reported:

“Michael Joan Vargas López, 23 years old, died in Yumbo, on 5/17. He also participated in the demonstration in the La Estancia neighborhood. A bullet hit him in the head. According to judicial authorities, preliminary evidence points to the police.”

Last year, El Tiempo also reported:

“From April 28 to May 24, the Attorney General’s Office has received a report of 43 people who died during these days, and of those, it has already been determined that at least 17 deaths have a direct link with the national strike.”

Earlier this month, on May 16, PBI-Colombia also accompanied Nomadesc at a meeting with Canadian Ambassador Marianick Tremblay in the city of Cali at which Nomadesc requested actions to avoid impunity and guarantees of non-financing to the Public Force (the national police and military).

Canada has exported Toronto, Ontario-manufactured INKAS armoured vehicles and Mirabel, Quebec-made Bell Textron 407 helicopters to the Colombian police, both of which were used during the national strike.

NOMADESC president Berenice Celeita, who met with Canadian Ambassador Tremblay, will be participating in an upcoming PBI-Canada webinar on Canadian arms exports and the human rights implications of militarization of territory in Colombia, Mexico and Denesuline territories in northern Alberta, Canada.

To participate in that webinar on May 31, register here now.