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PBI-Honduras accompanied National Union of Rural Workers (CNTC) denounces use of Black Mamba armoured vehicles in eviction of community

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: The CNTC condemns the use of ‘Black Mamba’ armoured vehicles against campesina community. Photo from CNTC Facebook page.

The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has posted on social media:

“We at PBI Honduras wish to express our concern regarding the information received this morning about the eviction of peasant families from the ‘7 de Febrero’ group, a member of the CNTC [National Union Rural Workers] Tegucigalpa, an organization that PBI has been accompanying since 2018. We express our concern for the physical integrity and safety of the cooperative’s members, given the information received regarding the destruction of property and homes, as well as the detention of minors. We reiterate the importance of respecting Honduran legislation on evictions, as well as international human rights standards, and we stress the need to guarantee the right to access to land and the safety and integrity of the communities affected during this process.”

The statement from the CNTC to the people of Honduras and the international community further notes:

“With deep indignation, we denounce the brutal and excessive violent eviction carried out today against the peasant families of the ‘7 de Febrero’ Peasant Group, affiliated with the CNTC regional branch in La Paz, located in the village of San Nicolás, municipality of La Villa de San Antonio, Comayagua.

The eviction was carried out by surprise, without a word of warning or respect for legal protocols, ignoring the fact that these families have been peacefully occupying and working the land since 2018.”

Among their demands: “We demand that the Government of the Republic order the immediate withdrawal of police and military forces from the area.”

Black Mamba armoured combat vehicles

The CNTC statement also notes: “We condemn the excessive military and police deployment, including the use of ‘Black Mamba’ armoured combat vehicles, which were used against humble families, treating them as if they were ‘terrorists’ or highly dangerous criminals.”

In February 2024, the Rio Times reported: “Honduras recently added two Black Mamba APC Sandcat armoured vehicles to its National Police. These form the first part of a fleet of ten… The Black Mambas are a joint effort by Mexican companies TPS Armoring and Epel Tácticos. They are based on the Israeli Sandcat and come in three versions for different needs. … These vehicles, adapted from an Israeli design, signify how global technology can be tailored to local needs.”

But ContraCorriente has reported in greater detail: “In 2023, a delegation of senior commanders of the Honduran National Police traveled to Israel to finalize the acquisition of technological security equipment, including 15 Black Mamba Sandcat armored vehicles for use in high-impact operations. According to official documents, this will cost the State of Honduras almost 200 million lempiras. This model of vehicle has been singled out by organizations in Mexico for participating in operations in which human rights abuses have been committed, and in the United States for its participation in the war in Gaza and attacks committed against civilians.”

It then notes: “[Security Minister Gustavo] Sánchez also did not specify where they were purchased; however, Israel’s ambassador to Honduras announced that he had been part of a collaboration with his government.”

And it explains: “The Mexican companies Transportadora de Protección y Seguridad (TPS Armoring) and Epel Tácticos obtained the license [from the U.S.-based company Oshkosh] to manufacture versions of the security equipment in their territory, including the Black Mamba Sandcat model, and it was precisely the company TPS Armoring that sold the equipment to Honduras.”

ContraCorriente highlights: “Israel has been one of Honduras’ most important partners for the purchase of security equipment. Data from the School of the Americas Watch indicate that between 2013 and 2019 alone, during the governments of Juan Orlando Hernández, Honduras bought around 342.8 million dollars (about 8,344 million lempiras) from Israel in war equipment and espionage.”

Accompaniment

Today, the CNTC posted on Instagram:

“We are grateful for the valuable technical and legal intervention of the Justice for the People Bureau, together with the accompaniment of Peace Brigades International (PBI), ensuring that the world kept its eyes on this atrocity.
Let those who try to intimidate the peasant know that the fight for the land and the territory is legitimate and the CNTC is a single organized force that does not abandon its members.”

On March 3, 2026, PBI-Honduras, PBI-Canada coordinator Brent Patterson met with Franklin Almendares, General Secretary, and Rosa Santamaría, member of the National Board of Directors, of the CNTC at their office in Tegucigalpa.

PBI-Canada continues to highlight the role that military equipment and technology has in the repression of human rights defenders and communities. We are further highlighting the work of the Shut Down CANSEC campaign in advance of the CADSI-organized CANSEC arms show in Ottawa on May 27-28.

The CNTC is affiliated with the Unified Confederation of Honduran Workers (CUTH) which in turn is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), along with 150+ labour organizations including the Canadian Labour Congress.

Peace Brigades International has accompanied the CNTC since May 2018.

“We never wanted to go to the police, because it was the police who were chasing us.” – #the defenders speak.

Additional reading: What support does Canada provide to the Honduran military and police? (PBI-Canada article, October 15, 2021).

PBI-Guatemala and PBI-Spanish State remember the life and work of Fermín Rodrigo

By
Brent Patterson
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The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project has posted on social media: “We at PBI Guatemala wish to express our deep sadness at the passing of Fermin Rodrigo, a tireless comrade in his struggle and commitment to the defence of human rights. His brotherhood and solidarity with the Guatemalan people fill us with admiration and respect. Our deepest condolences, especially to his partner.”

PBI-Spanish State also posted:

“On March 30 our dear comrade Fermín Rodrigo passed on to another place. From Peace Brigades International, we have had the honour of having him as a comrade with his commitment until the very end. Wherever he is, we are sure he continues to fight for a more just world and defend everyone’s rights. A very big hug from our family to his, especially to his partner, Llum.

‘Staying on the ground, among other things, has the virtue of strengthening in us, and therefore in the societies we live in, this irrevocable character of the communal, of the common, that a person cannot develop freely and with dignity unless they are in interrelation with the community.’”

And PBI-Guatemala has posted: “Remembering our friend Fermin, one of those people who understood that living is taking sides. Thanks to Entrepueblos!”

Entrepueblos, a Spanish association that promotes solidarity cooperation with Latin America, notes: “It is hard to think that we will no longer see him at the many venues and groups where he was present and committed: at the Entrepueblos assemblies – of which he was member number 21 – at the Catalan Committee for Central America – which he helped to establish through Peace Brigades – at the USTEC [education union in Catalunya] and Entrepueblos Solidarity Stays in Primavera de Ixcán (Guatemala) or in so many other spaces representing the Catholic Action Workers’ Brotherhood, where he had been an active member for over 40 years… Or in the Pensioners’ Movement.”

Their article adds: “We have known him since his early days working in Christian base communities, within the revolutionary left, or in the most militant trade unionism, as a worker at Telefónica. It was through this social involvement that he became part of Entrepueblos from its inception and also participated in the 0.7% movement and so many other causes.”

It further notes: “Ever since he took part in the campaign to support the recognition of the Communities of People in Resistance in Guatemala in 1993, a piece of his heart remained anchored in that country and its indigenous communities. And that connected him to the work of Peace Brigades, which has been one of his most enduring and active commitments ever since. …From here, we wish to send a huge, loving embrace to Llum, to the comrades of the Peace Brigades, to his closest family and to all those who shared the journey with him. We stand with you in this difficult time, with all our love and keeping Fermín’s memory alive.”

To read the full post from Entrepueblos, please see: El recuerdo vivo de Fermín, compartir caminos. (Entrepueblos 01.04.2026).

And Olesa Radio in Spain has also posted on social media: “CONDOLENCES. From Olesa Radio, we regret the death of Fermín Rodrigo, who had been a talk show host at the Hotel Gori for many years and who contributed to the station whenever he was asked. Fermín also kept us up to date with the activities of the social organizations and movements he collaborated with and was an activist for, such as the Pensioners’ Tide and Peace Brigades International. Our deepest condolences to his family and friends. May you rest in peace, Fermín.”

From PBI-Canada, we extend our condolences solidarity to all who knew and had the privilege of working Fermin.

PBI-Mexico accompanies Cerezo Committee at rally at 24th meeting of Special Search Commission for Gabriel Alberto Cruz Sánchez and Edmundo Reyes Amaya

By
Brent Patterson
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Video still from Comite Cerezo.

The Cerezo Committee in Mexico has posted on social media: “Rally at #Segob [Secretariat of the Interior] for the 24th meeting of the Special Search Commission for the case of #GabrielyEdmundo #Oaxaca.”

Edmundo Reyes Amaya and Gabriel Alberto Cruz Sánchez

The Cerezo Committee has previously explained: “On May 25, 2007, in the city of Oaxaca, Edmundo Reyes Amaya and Gabriel Alberto Cruz Sánchez, members of the Popular Democratic Revolutionary Party-Popular Revolutionary Army (PDR) were arrested and disappeared by various police and military groups.”

Supreme Court decision and formation of Special Search Commission

Proceso has reported: “On May 6, 2019, the Fourth District Court of Amparo in Criminal Matters in Mexico City issued a sentence that recognized ‘the serious violation of human rights’ against Popular Revolutionary Army members ‘by agents of the Mexican State’.” That decision was appealed by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and the Secretariat of National Defence (Sedena).

The Committee of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared notes: “On August 10, 2022, the First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation issued the ruling in favor of the victims, Gabriel Alberto Cruz Sánchez and Edmundo Reyes Amaya, detained and disappeared on May 25, 2007.”

A Special Search Commission was established on November 3, 2022. A first objective was to develop a comprehensive search plan.

The ongoing struggle

We have followed this since August 2022.

–PBI-Mexico accompanies Cerezo Committee at sit-in protest at Supreme Court (August 11, 2022)

–PBI-Mexico accompanies the Cerezo Committee at meeting of Special Search Commission on the forced disappearance of Cruz and Reyes (October 28, 2022)

–PBI-Mexico accompanies formation of International Solidarity Committee in disappearance of Edmundo Reyes and Gabriel Cruz (December 10, 2022)

–PBI-Mexico accompanies Cerezo Committee and families in the call to find Edmundo Reyes and Gabriel Cruz (April 6, 2024)

–PBI-Mexico accompanied relatives of Edmundo Reyes and Gabriel Cruz demand progress at 12th meeting of search commission in Mexico City (July 7, 2024)

–PBI-Mexico accompanies reconnaissance activities in Oaxaca in the continuing search for Edmundo Reyes Amaya and Gabriel Alberto Cruz Sánchez (July 20, 2024).

Accompaniment

Peace Brigades International began to accompany the Cerezo Committee in 2002.

PBI-Mexico advocacy coordinator Manuel Jabonero and PBI-Canada coordinator Brent Patterson met with Francisco Cerezo Contreras of the Cerezo Committee in Mexico City in February 2026.

USMCA panel: Canadian company used organized crime to violate the labour rights of mine workers in Mexico

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: On June 10, 2025, Canadian trade unionists rallied outside the offices of Vancouver mining corporation Orla Mining, owner of the Camino Rojo mine.

La Jornada reports: “The Camino Rojo mining company, located in Zacatecas, used organized crime to threaten its workers, members of section 335 of the National Mining Union [Sindicato Nacional Minero], and violate their labour rights, in addition to seeking to get them to defect from this union, warns the investigation of the panel of the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) of the USMCA [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement], which determined that the company is ‘directly responsible for employer interference’ in union activities.”

The article adds: “According to the preliminary resolution, the expert panelists documented evidence of acts of violence and death threats, in union assemblies and at their homes, against the workers of the union organization led by Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, holder of the collective bargaining agreement, to force them to join a ‘protection’ union of the National Federation of Independent Unions.”

ContraRéplica further reports: “The panel documented that the company had hired a drug trafficker to disrupt union meetings with armed individuals, issue death threats, and pressure employees to leave their organization and join a union affiliated with the company. [These and other actions] directly affected the exercise of freedom of association and collective bargaining.”

That article highlights: “The panel concluded that the company is directly responsible for these actions, in addition to pointing out that the Canadian parent company maintained a passive stance in the face of the complaints, without investigating or acting on labor violations.”

And it notes: “Specialists from the mining union indicated that the case sets a relevant precedent by recognizing that violence and threats can constitute a denial of labor rights, which could influence future controversies within the USMCA.”

In November 2024, the Toronto, Canada-based United Steelworkers union (USW) stated it had “filed a complaint under the Canada United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on behalf of workers at a Canadian-owned mine in Mexico who have faced assaults and death threats after they joined an independent union. This complaint calls for an independent panel to investigate and address violations of workers’ rights at the Camino Rojo gold and silver mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, which is owned by Vancouver-based Orla Mining Ltd. The complaint, filed under CUSMA’s Rapid Response Labour Mechanism (RRM), cites the continuous and systematic denial of the workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.”

We continue to follow this.

Further reading: PBI-Canada seeks strengthened protection for human rights defenders who advocate for labour rights, the right of association (March 12, 2026).

PBI-Canada to join CFSC and Quaker Roots on webinar about DSEI and CANSEC arms shows

By
Brent Patterson
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The Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC) has posted on social media:

“Join us on April 16th at 3 pm Eastern time (8 pm in the UK) to hear from Pete Doubtfire from Quaker Roots in Britain. Pete will discuss successes and lessons learned during their activism against DSEI – Britain’s biggest arms fair.

Brent Patterson from Peace Brigades International Canada will also speak to organizing around Canada’s arms fair – CANSEC (May 27-28 in Ottawa) and Mel Burns from CFSC will discuss our plans for Friendly actions during CANSEC.”

You can register for this webinar here.

Webinar speakers: Pete Doubtfire, Brent Patterson, Mel Burns.

Additional reading

–PBI-Canada observes protests at the DSEI arms fair in London, hears concerns about violations of human rights (PBI-Canada, September 12, 2025)

–PRELIMINARY FINDINGS from Order Paper Question on the CANSEC arms show and human rights considerations (PBI-Canada, November 11, 2025)

–Country report: The export of “military goods” to Indonesia; attacks against human rights defenders (PBI-Canada, February 2, 2026).

VIDEO: “On 3rd September 2019, hundreds of Quakers from across the UK joined other faith groups in taking collective nonviolent action against the DSEI arms fair, one of the world’s biggest trade shows for the ‘defence’ industry.”

CBC News: “Watchdog’s report on controversial RCMP unit delayed due to lack of chairperson”

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: RCMP unit on Wet’suwet’en territory, November 2021. Photo by Michael Toledano.

CBC News reports: “A years-long investigation into a special RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] unit that polices protests against resource extraction in British Columbia is finished but can’t be finalized because the RCMP’s oversight body has been without a chairperson for more than a year.”

The article further notes: “The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) … recently announced the completion of a systemic investigation into the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG), which drew national attention in 2019 when the unit launched a large-scale enforcement action against Wet’suwet’en-led opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline.”

The article quotes Meghan McDermott, policy director for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, who says: “The longer it’s gone on, the more absurd it is. …To see month after month go by, and that there’s no announcements being made, is just devastating. It’s devastating from the perspective of police accountability, rule of law, just timely access to remedies.”

It also quotes Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), who said in an emailed statement: “The failure to finalize this investigation due to the absence of a federal appointment is reprehensible. …Delaying oversight only reinforces the need for decisive action, and Canada must act now to restore accountability and uphold its commitments to Indigenous Peoples.”

Peace Brigades International-Canada continue to follow this.

Further reading

–Watchdog’s report on controversial RCMP unit delayed due to lack of chairperson (CBC News, April 7, 2026)

–CRCC systemic investigation into the RCMP C-IRG now completed, but unreleased due to “absence of a decision-maker” (PBI-Canada article, March 19, 2026)

–PBI-Canada continues to monitor the pending FIDs for major projects, the implications for land and environmental defenders (PBI-Canada article, March 13, 2026).

Peace Brigades International at 61st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland

By
Brent Patterson
-

Peace Brigades International was present at the 61st session of the Human Rights Council (February 23 – March 31, 2026) took place in Geneva, Switzerland. PBI made formal interventions, co-organized side events, and supported defenders speaking directly to the international community.

The formal interventions by PBI included:

-Mexico: PBI highlighted the need to strengthen the Protection Mechanism in Mexico.

-Guatemala: PBI raised the historic ruling protecting community journalist Norma Sancir and called for dialogue mechanisms to resolve land conflicts affecting Indigenous communities.

Video: March 3, 2026 (starts at 1:59:08). PBI presentation by Yannick Wild.

-Colombia: PBI called for full implementation of the Law on Women Searchers and stronger state presence in rural areas most affected by armed conflict.

Video: March 4, 2026 (starts at 2:20:06). PBI presentation by Yannick Wild.

-Honduras: PBI called for full corporate accountability, compliance with the reparation plan for Berta Cáceres’ murder, and stronger protection for communities facing extractive industry pressure.

Video: March 2, 2026 (starts at 57:44). PBI presentation by Meritxell Bonet.

-Nicaragua: PBI called on the international community to recognize transnational repression as a distinct and urgent dimension of the crisis.

Video: March 16, 2026 (starts at 44:36). PBI presentation by Lulio Marenco.

PBI also co-organized side events on territorial violence in Colombia, housing rights in Guatemala, and arbitrary detention in Nicaragua. We supported Sandra Calel of the Verapaz Union of Peasant Organizations (UVOC) and exiled Nicaraguan defender Salvador Marenco to speak at the international level.

With thanks to PBI-Switzerland and PBI-UK for content and photos.

PBI-Canada, PBI-Mexico and Espacio OSC urgently call for the strengthening of the Protection Mechanism

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: Journalist Carlos Castro.

Peace Brigades International-Canada, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project, and the Civil Society Organization Space for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists (Espacio OSC) continue to collaborate in the call for a strengthening of the Protection Mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists in Mexico, notably in the lead-up to the Canada-Mexico Dialogue on Human Rights and Multilateral Affairs expected to take place in mid-May in Ottawa.

The Protection Mechanism operates at both a federal and a regional level, with twenty-four states having regional representations, and eight with a specific budget for the regional implementation of the Mechanism.

Several branches of the Mexican government cooperate through this Mechanism to implement the measures, including the Ministry of the Interior, the Attorney General’s Office, the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Human Rights Commission.

Carlos Castro

Carlos Castro, 25, was shot dead January 8, 2026. Castro led the news website Código Norte Veracruz and was a correspondent for the local newspaper, Noreste. The CPJ has documented: “The Veracruz State Commission for Attention to and Protection of Journalists (CEAPP) confirmed … Castro was assigned protective measures after an altercation with a municipal police officer in April 2024. The measures expired after Castro left Veracruz in October 2024. Upon Castro’s return to Poza Rica in late 2025 the protective measures had not been re-activated after the journalist ended contact with the agency, according to Ramírez Baqueiro [with the CEAPP].”

Nine journalists killed in Mexico in 2025

The murder of Castro is part of a pattern of violence against journalists in Mexico.

On December 9, 2025, Reporters Without Borders noted: “In Mexico, organised crime groups are responsible for the alarming spike in journalist murders seen in 2025. This year has been the deadliest of the past three years — at least — and Mexico is the second most dangerous country in the world for journalists, with nine killed.”

They further comment: “Although a year has passed since Claudia Sheinbaum became president — and despite the commitments she made to RSF — 2025 was the deadliest of the past three years for news professionals in Mexico, and the country is the second most dangerous in the world for journalists, with nine killed this year.”

Reporters Without Borders has also documented that 28 journalists are missing in Mexico.

Since 2000, at least 141 journalists and other media workers have been killed, according to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) research; at least 61 of those killings were found to be directly related to their work.

The need to strengthen the Protection Mechanism

In March 2024, Amnesty International and the CPJ noted: “Eight journalists have been killed while enrolled in Mexico’s Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in the last seven years, a figure that highlights the urgent need to strengthen and reform the institution.”

In December 2025, the CPJ joined Espacio OSC, a coalition of Mexican civil society organizations accompanied by the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project, in a joint statement expressing concern about the implementation of basic protection measures for journalists by the Mexican Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists.

The Protection Mechanism provides protection to over 2,000 individuals, including approximately 500 journalists.

The CPJ also noted at the end of last year: “In recent weeks, CPJ and Espacio OSC have documented failures in the implementation of basic protection measures for at least 10 journalists, most of whom have received death threats.”

The risk continues

The context of risk for journalists continues.

On February 25, 2026, Reporters Without Borders further documented “eight cases of journalists who were assaulted, threatened or robbed of their equipment by members of criminal organisations on 22 February 2026 while covering the violent unrest that followed the federal operation that killed Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho.”

Unifor

Unifor represents more than 10,000 media workers, including journalists in the broadcast and print news industry.

Unifor highlights: “The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.”

PBI-Canada is grateful for the support of the Unifor Social Justice Fund that enables accompaniment and advocacy to strengthen the Protection Mechanism, including for journalists and independent union activists in Mexico, as well as workers at risk in Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala.

We continue to follow this.

Further reading: PBI-Canada highlights the need to strengthen the Protection Mechanism in Mexico at APG-organized call with Global Affairs Canada (March 27, 2026).

PBI-Mexico meets with the Oaxaca State Commission for the Search for Missing Persons to exchange experiences and perspectives

By
Brent Patterson
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The Oaxaca State Commission for the Search for Missing Persons has posted on social media:

“With the aim of establishing coordination mechanisms for search operations, Michel Julián López, head of the Oaxaca State Commission for the Search for Missing Persons, accompanied by her team, held a meeting today with staff from Peace Brigades International (PBI), an international organisation dedicated to supporting human rights defenders.

The aim of this dialogue was to exchange experiences and perspectives on the work carried out by both organisations in the search for and location of missing persons, highlighting the joint participation of victims as well as the application of human rights-based, differentiated, specialised and gender-sensitive approaches.

These meetings strengthen inter-institutional collaboration and enable the development of joint actions for the search for missing persons and the protection of those working to defend human rights in Oaxaca.

#Search Oaxaca”

The dangers to searchers

In October 2024, Amnesty International noted: “Disappearance drives families, loved ones, and communities to search for their loved ones. Relatives searching for disappeared and missing people faced serious risks, including enforced disappearance, killing, repression and threats. In the report Searching Without Fear: International Standards for protecting women searchers in the Americas, Amnesty International draws on international human rights law to make the case that searching for forcibly disappeared persons is a right. Given that most searchers in the Americas are women, the report also details states’ international obligations to protect against the unique risks, threats, and attacks that, as women, they face.”

More than 130,000 people disappeared in Mexico

Last month, The Guardian reported: “More than 130,000 people are considered missing or disappeared in Mexico, an ongoing crisis that has devastated tens of thousands of families across the country. While disappearances began to surge in the early 2000s as the Mexican government sought to take on the country’s cartels, a new report by the public policy analysis firm México Evalúa found that, in the last 10 years, disappearances have increased more than 200%.”

An estimated 3,629 missing in Oaxaca

Corriente Alterna UNAM, the Journalistic Research Unit of the Coordination of Cultural Dissemination of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, has noted: “According to the National Registry of Disappeared and Missing People, 3,629 people have been reported disappeared or missing in the state of Oaxaca since 1964, with 90% of cases occurring during the last 10 years under the governments of Gabino Cué Monteagudo (2010-2016) and Alejandro Murat Hinojosa (2016-2022).”

Sandra Domínguez

The Associated Press has reported: “Sandra Estefana Domínguez Martínez and her husband were last seen October 4, 2024, in the town of María Lombardo de Caso, in eastern Oaxaca on the border with Veracruz. The prominent feminist activist and defender of the Mixe Indigenous peoples, native to Oaxaca’s eastern highlands, is herself of Mixe descent.”

That article adds: “Joaquín Galvan, a Oaxacan activist and close friend of Domínguez … believes that Domínguez’s work and persistent complaints against state officials are related to her disappearance. …Galvan encouraged Domínguez to request protection under a federal protection program for human rights defenders and journalists known as ‘the mechanism’. He is enrolled, but he said Domínguez was not at the time of her disappearance.”

We continue to follow this.

PBI-Canada concerned by reports that the RCMP and CSIS have surveilled Indigenous rights defenders from the 1970s to the present

By
Brent Patterson
-

CBC News reports: “Prime Minister Mark Carney says there should be a public apology for a spying operation targeting hundreds of Indigenous people that had the support of the federal government. ‘Yes, there should be an apology,’ Carney said during a news conference in Halifax on Thursday [March 26]. ‘It’s a reprehensible practice. Never should’ve happened.’”

The article adds: “CBC Indigenous obtained nearly 6,000 newly declassified documents that show the Mounties [the Royal Canadian Mounted Police/RCMP] infiltrated legitimate political Indigenous organizations engaged in legal and democratic advocacy, and sought to disrupt their activities in an operation called the ‘Native extremism program’. The files corroborate for the first time that the Liberal government in the mid ’70s approved RCMP wiretaps to monitor the telephones of the National Indian Brotherhood, known today as the AFN [Assembly of First Nations], in Ottawa.”

The article also notes: “RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme issued a written statement of regret a day after the CBC Indigenous investigation broke, and pledged to meet with Indigenous leaders and elders.”

The Commissioner writes: “The RCMP acknowledges the recent reporting concerning surveillance activities involving Indigenous groups during the 1960s and 1970s. …The RCMP today is not the same organization it was decades ago, but I acknowledge that more must be done.”

We note that the Chiefs of Ontario is now demanding “federal action on widespread spying on First Nations by police and security forces in Canada.”

1995

Last year, CBC News also reported that declassified internal documents indicate that the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) — formed in 1984 to take on the security intelligence work of the RCMP — conducted a secret investigation into “Native extremism” in 1995 and appear to have falsely claimed that Indigenous land defenders in Ipperwash, Ontario were armed just days prior to an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer fatally shooting land defender Dudley George on September 6, 1995, during a re-occupation of the Ipperwash Provincial Park.

2010

The Narwhal has also previously reported: “Recent revelations that the RCMP spied on Indigenous environmental rights activist Clayton Thomas-Muller should not be dismissed as routine monitoring. They reveal a long-term, national energy strategy that is coming increasingly into conflict with Indigenous rights and assertions of Indigenous jurisdiction over lands and resources. A ‘Critical Infrastructure Suspicious Incident’ report was triggered by Thomas-Muller’s trip in 2010 to the Unist’ot’en camp of Wet’suwet’en land defenders, where a protect camp was being built on the coordinates of a proposed Pacific Trails pipeline.”

2014-15

APTN News has reported that Miles Howe of Queen’s University told APTN News in a phone interview that checklists developed by RCMP Director of Research and Analysis Dr. Eli Sopow as part of the National Intelligence Coordination Centre’s 2014-2015 Project SITKA reveal “it’s not criminality the RCMP are focused on, it’s the ability of that group to create and craft a counter narrative to the one that suggests whatever the police do is across the board legitimate.”

That article adds: “His collaboration with [Jeffrey] Monaghan, an assistant professor of criminology [Carleton University in Ottawa], builds on a body of work developed by Monaghan and Andrew Crosby, a coordinator with the Ontario Public Interest Group at Carleton University. Monaghan and Crosby used access to information laws to uncover thousands of pages of documents from the RCMP, CSIS and government agencies [that paints] a picture of how government departments, police, intelligence agencies and private sector interests work together to compile intelligence on activists—including Indigenous land defenders…”

2021 and 2022

CBC News has reported: “An RCMP national security unit monitored First Nations-led anti-pipeline activism for ‘potential threats’ to the energy, transportation and banking sectors between 2021 and 2022, internal police documents show. Records obtained by CBC Indigenous reveal Ottawa-based federal policing groups tracked and analyzed protests against TC Energy and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), citing concerns about ‘anarchist groups’ or ‘fringe environmentalists’ sabotaging infrastructure or targeting executives in solidarity with Wet’suwe’ten hereditary chiefs.”

2022 and 2023

And Amnesty International has documented: “RCMP and CRU [Critical Response Unit, the rebranded Community-Industry Response Group] officers, and Forsythe Security employees, follow members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation travelling through their territory along the Morice FSR, as well as in nearby cities. They also photograph and record members of the Nation. Amnesty International observed these tactics during its visits to Wet’suwet’en territory in July 2022 and May-June 2023. Members of the organization’s research team were also followed, photographed and filmed by the RCMP and Forsythe Security on multiple occasions.”

We continue to follow this.

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