The Association for Research and Social Action (Nomadesc) organized a gathering on April 28 in the city of Yumbo, Colombia to remember those killed by the state during the National Strike and social uprising in 2021.
The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project was there to accompany Nomadesc and the community gathered at the remembrance.
A Nomadesc video from the day shows one of the PBI-Colombia volunteers standing near a displayed photo of Kevin Anthony Agudelo.
The Associated Press reports: “Kevin Anthony Agudelo wanted to live in a country where corruption was not part of everyday life. That dream motivated the electrician to join thousands of Colombians in a series of demonstrations against the government [that started on April 28, 2021]. He never returned home from his third protest.”
He was 22 years old when he was shot to death by police on May 3, 2021, in the Siloé neighbourhood of the city of Cali.
Killed by a Tavor assault rifle
His mother Ángela Jiménez says: “I took a video of him at the morgue. The bullet entered through the right side of his chest and came out on the left side, went through his left arm. The friends who were with him told me that my son had done absolutely nothing and that they (the police) had killed him, that it had been a rifle shot.”
Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps confirmed that these police officers fired 5.56mm Tavor rifles.
The Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) website notes that their company “has been a world leader in the production, marketing, design, and development of unrivalled weapons for over 85 years. IWI’s products are deployed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and worldwide. All of IWI’s weapons have been battle proven around the world under adverse and extreme environmental conditions.”
The IWI website adds: “The TAVOR Assault Rifle was developed in close cooperation with Israel Defense Forces (IDF). …The TAVOR line of Assault Rifles also been chosen by government bodies as well as military, law enforcement and police units worldwide.”
IWI at CANSEC in Ottawa
In May 2015, the Embassy of Israel in Canada noted: “Ambassador Rafael Barak is pleased to welcome a delegation of 14 Israeli defence and security companies to Ottawa, as part of CANSEC 2015. …The delegation is led by the Director of the International Defence Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Defence (SIBAT).”
That statement concludes that Israel Weapons Industries (IWI) was present at CANSEC. A Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) backgrounder about CANSEC also indicates that an international delegation from Colombia was present, along with the Canadian trade commissioner from Colombia.
We cannot yet establish a date that the rifles were purchased, but a post from the National Police of Colombia indicates that they acquired spare parts for the rifles in April 2018, a few years after CANSEC 2015.
Nomadesc message to Canada
On December 1, 2021, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project posted on social media: “The Canadian embassy @CanadayColombia visits the office of @Nomadesc in Cali to talk about the causes of the protests and learn first-hand about cases of police violence. Nomadesc requested guarantees that Canada does not assist the Colombian police with equipment.”
Then again on June 1, 2022, during CANSEC that year, Nomadesc posted: “We Colombians want no more weapons, no more massacres, no more disappearances, no more threats. No more fear. #StopTheGenocide. We demand truth, justice and guarantees that this will never happen again. Do not send us any more weapons. That makes you accomplices to barbarism.”
This coming May 27-28, 2026, 60+ countries, including Colombia, will be in Ottawa to meet with nearly 300 weapons and surveillance companies, including the world’s largest and most profitable transnationals: Lockheed Martin, RTX Corporation, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and General Dynamics.
A wide range of social movements, peace groups, faith communities, non-governmental organizations, and individuals will be mobilizing to protest the CANSEC arms show on Wednesday May 27 and Thursday May 28.
Peace Brigades International-Canada is highlighting the dangers faced by communities from the arms exports promoted at the CANSEC arms show as part of our commitment to holistic protection accompaniment.
