PBI-Canada expresses sorrow over the assassination of CREDHOS member Filadelfo Anzola

PBI-Colombia has tweeted:

“They assassinate Filadelfo Anzola, defender #human rights @Credhos_Paz that has been declared a collective victim #caso08 @JEP_Colombia for crimes committed by paramilitaries and state agents since 1987 against them. 35 years later there are still no guarantees for defenders #MagdalenaMedio”

And CREDHOS has tweeted:

“#35 Years Defending Life #FiladelfoAnzola on December 6 you were planted as an example of struggle, your ideals and dreams were not extinguished, as #Credhos we will continue in the construction of #TotalPeace the demand for the #Implementation of the Agreements and #No Repetition”

CREDHOS also issued this two-page statement that says in part:

“On December 6, 2022, around noon, while he was in the corregimiento Cagüices from the municipality of San Pablo, FILADELFO ANZOLA was approached by presumed members of the GAITANISTA SELF-DEFENSE DEFENSE OF COLOMBIA -AGC. They were traveling on a motorcycle and they shot at him, causing his death.

FILADELFO ANZOLA was a committed defender of Human Rights and the territory, he leaves two orphaned minor children and a pregnant widow.

We urge the international community and multilateral organizations (UN and OAS – System Inter-American Court of Human Rights) to enforce the actions of the Colombian State regarding its obligation to guarantee the life and integrity of human rights defenders.”

During a PBI-Canada webinar today, Juan Camilo Delgado of CREDHOS shared the news of the murder of Filadelfo with an international audience.

He said: “I would like to start by mentioning and commemorating the work of our comrade Filadelfo Anzola who was assassinated yesterday by two armed men in San Pablo. Fildadelfo was part of the human rights commission of @Credhos_Paz.”

This afternoon, Radio Nacional de Colombia also reported: “The Institute of Studies for Development and Peace of Colombia – Indepaz, registered that 181 leaders have already been assassinated so far this year, with the departments of Cauca and Nariño being the most dangerous for these defenders.”

“The populations hardest hit by these events have been community leaders with 55 cases, indigenous people with 35, and 9 women leaders.”

That article notes: “The latest case occurred against the social leader Filadelfo Anzola, who was a member of the human rights organization Credhos, and of the board of directors of the municipality of San Pablo in the department of Bolívar.”

PBI-Canada expresses its sorrow over the murder of Filadelfo Anzola and extends its continuing solidarity with CREDHOS.