Photo: The Central Union of Workers (CUT) is the largest union federation in Colombia representing about 600,000 workers. Nearly 800 members of CUT were murdered between 1987 and 1992.
In a country that has been historically dangerous for human rights defenders, PBI-Canada is following commentary on the implications of Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, for union activists.
In May 2025, the BBC reported: “The Labour Ministry says that since the early 1970s, well over 3,000 trade unionists have been murdered in Colombia. And even though the nation is more peaceful than it once was, the attacks continue.”
From March 2023 to March 2024, eleven trade union activists were murdered in Colombia.
The Brussels, Belgium-based International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) recently reported that two Colombian trade union activists were killed in 2025: Walberto Quintero Medina (the Vice President of the Central Union of Workers/CUT departmental committee in Cesar and an Executive Committee member of the SINALTRAINAL union for food industry workers) and Campo Elías Urrutía Vargas (a member of the National Board of Directors of Fedearroz, the national federation of rice growers, and the National Executive of the Aguazul committee of rice farmers).
Sintracarbón, Sintracerrejón and F23
During the election, the RAYA Magazine Research Unit reported: “An inspection visit by the Ministry of Labor to the facilities of Carbones del Cerrejón, the subsidiary of the multinational Glencore that operates the largest open-pit coal mine in the world in La Guajira, responded to a union complaint for political propaganda by presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella in the company’s residential sector. The discovery took place on May 28 and triggered a preventive protection measure against the company for possible electoral constraint on its workers.”
The complaint was made, reports RAYA Magazine, by members of the company’s unions, Coal Industry Workers’ Union (Sintracarbón), the National Union of Coal Workers of Cerrejón (Sintracerrejón) and F23.
CUT, CGT, CTC
Just after the first-round presidential vote, Caracol Radio reported: “A strong rejection has generated among the labor unions of Tolima the proposal of presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella to eliminate up to 700,000 positions in the State, in a possible budget cut of an eventual government of his. This announcement led trade union organizations such as the Central Union of Workers (CUT), the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC) and the Union of Teachers of Tolima to call a social mobilization for Thursday, June 11.”
CUT
After the second-round vote, the Central Union of Workers (CUT) expressed their rejection of de la Espriella.
Their statement highlights: “[The next government] would be marked by a policy of stigmatization and open persecution against those who oppose its postulates and decisions. This refers to painful episodes in our recent history, such as the 7,837 false positives that occurred during the government of Álvaro Uribe Vélez, as well as the repressive response of the government of Iván Duque to the social outbreak, which left about 86 people murdered, hundreds injured and more than 100 young people with permanent eye injuries.”
Their statement further notes: “This policy of stigmatization is already being announced by Mr. Abelardo De la Espriella against trade unionism, Fecode, journalists and other social and political sectors. In one sentence: eviscerating the left and persecuting the opposition, characteristic features of fascism.”
Fecode
As noted above, CUT states that de la Espriella has stigmatized FECODE, the Colombian Federation of Education Workers.
The Hindustan Times reports: “[De la Espriella] has called for limitations of FECODE, which is the country’s main union for teachers. With these limits, De la Espriella hopes to propose reforms to the education system that would be more active in teaching religious values to students.”
InfoNacion has also reported: “President-elect Abelardo De la Espriella proposed a profound transformation of the Colombian education system and asserted that Fecode (the Colombian teachers’ union) must leave the classroom, while advocating for a model based on technological training, vocational education, and the strengthening of values. ‘Colombia’s education needs a transformation. We have to get Fecode out of the classrooms and put God back where he never should have left,’ the political leader stated.”
Union support for de la Espriella
There have also been expressions of trade union support for de la Espriella reported by IFM Noticias: “UTIPEC union announces support for the presidential candidacy of Abelardo de la Espriella and José Manuel Restrepo”, Portafolio: “52 trade union organizations announce support for Abelardo de la Espriella”, and Caracol Radio: “USO billboard appeared supporting Abelardo de la Espriella in Barrancabermeja”.
We continue to follow this.
