PBI webinar: Frontera Energy vs San Luis de Palenque, October 11

This webinar will feature social leaders Ferney Salcedo, Yulivel Leal, Ninfa Cruz (COSPACC) and Reymundo Vásquez (CSPP).

Join us on Tuesday October 11 at 2 pm ET for a webinar (with simultaneous translation in English and Spanish) about the criminalization of social leaders in San Luis de Palenque, Colombia by the Canadian oil company Frontera Energy.

To register, click here.

The social leaders are protesting the impacts Frontera has had on the community’s roads and environmental health as well as broken promises on environmental compensation, social investment and local jobs.

Frontera has signed two agreements with the Ministry of Defence for USD $1.34 million to secure army protection for their operations.

Just days after those contracts were signed, community members were arrested in a military operation involving a Black Hawk helicopter.

UN Special Rapporteur Michel Forst expressed concern about “the apparent connection between Frontera Energy, the army’s 16th brigade and the Attorney General’s Support Office in this criminalization.”

The webinar panel will include social leaders Ferney Salcedo and Yulivel Leal; Ninfa Cruz of the Social Corporation for Community Advice and Training (COSPACC); and Reymundo Vásquez, a lawyer with the Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP).

Ferney spent 500 days in jail while his wife Yulivel was under house arrest. Six other members of the community were also criminalized.

The webinar will take place just days after the October 3-6 court hearing for Ferney, Yulivel and the others on charges brought forward by Frontera.

The webinar will have simultaneous translation in English and Spanish.

To register, click here.