The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has posted on social media: “We attend the presentation of the CIDH [Inter-American Commission on Human Rights] report on the impact of human rights violations.”
Caracol Radio reports: “The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) presented a report on the situation of violence in Colombia and the impact it has on human rights. It concludes that, despite the progress and efforts to build peace, there are still structural factors such as inequality, discrimination and the absence of the State in large areas of the territory.”
The report includes references to “the persecution of labour unions” (89), notes that the mining and energy sector has “labour impacts” (293), and that changes introduced to the Victims Law in 2024 aimed to ensure the State provides protection measures for members of labour unions (441):
89- High levels of informal employment are linked, among other factors, to the deterioration and persecution of labour unions. In a context marked by precariousness, stigmatization, and violence, civil society representatives pointed out that the difficulties in defending labor rights translate into a greater likelihood of violations of the legal framework. This scenario also generates a power imbalance between workers and companies, which further increases violations of current regulations regarding labor, environmental, social, and economic rights.
293- The mining and energy sector has generated increasing territorial tensions due to its labour and environmental impacts. Social conflicts related to this sector increased from 89 episodes in 2022 to 130 cases in 2023.
440- In 2024, Law 2421 was approved, reforming the Victims’ Law to strengthen the enforceability of the rights of victims of the armed conflict and eliminate barriers to access to recognition and comprehensive reparation.
441- The reform also implemented differentiated approaches to recognize the impacts on Indigenous people, Afro-descendants, rural communities, women, LGBTI people, people with disabilities, displaced persons, and incarcerated individuals. The changes introduced by the law aim to ensure that the State provides protection measures for women, youth, children, older persons, people with disabilities, rural communities, human rights defenders and social and religious leaders, members of labour unions, and victims of internal, rural, and transnational forced displacement. Similarly, protection policies will prioritize single mothers, victims of sexual violence in the context of armed conflict, and children orphaned by armed conflict. Furthermore, it gave central importance to human security by understanding the interrelationship between security, socioeconomic development, and the enjoyment of human rights.
The Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation has posted on social media: “Finally! Law 2364 has been signed. The struggle of the women searching for their missing loved ones was not in vain. Now: let it be fulfilled, let it be implemented, let it be respected.”
The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has also posted:
“Presidency signs the Decree authorizing the Women Seekers Act. Congratulations @fundacionnydiaerikabautista for persistence and may this achievement continue to be a light on the way.”
El Espectador reports: “This has been the story of the women searchers in Colombia: waiting for some response from that family member they never saw again; waiting for institutional recognition of their work amid repeated attempts to discredit it; and waiting, for almost two years, for the decree enforcing the law that protects them to be signed. That moment finally arrived on January 26, when the measure implementing Law 2364 of 2024, known as the Women Searchers Law, became final.”
Andrea Torres, director of the Nydia Érika Bautista Foundation and daughter of Yanette Bautista, tells El Espectador: “We received it with tears in our eyes. We were very moved because we feel that Yanette Bautista is continuing her legacy from heaven and showing us that we must keep going. It gives us strength, comforts us, and reminds us that it is worth getting up every day to demand our rights and those of our loved ones. It has been wonderful news after decades in which women searchers were invisible.”
Radio Nacional de Colombia notes: “With the signing of this law, the national government takes a key step in recognizing the fundamental role that women searchers have played in defending human rights, historical memory, and peacebuilding in Colombia, settling a historic debt with those who have tirelessly searched for their loved ones amid pain and resistance.”
The timeline of the legislation
The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project was present on October 19, 2022, the day the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation filed the Bill.
On March 15, 2023, PBI-Colombia tweeted: “We are accompanying the Meeting with the @FirstCommission to promote the Bill on #WomenSearchers of #EnforcedDisappearance in Colombia @nydia_erika” The First Commission (Comisión Primera) is the “Permanent Constitutional Commission of the Congress of the Republic of Colombia that processes in first debate the Bills and Legislative Act.”
And on May 16, 2023, PBI-Colombia accompanied the Foundation at the First Debate on the Comprehensive Law.
On June 27, 2023, PBI-Colombia posted: “The Commissioner of the @CIDH [Inter-American Commission on Human Rights] @JulissaMantill6 visits the office of @nydia_erika in support of the risk situation that the Foundation faces in its fight against forced disappearance and in support of the Women Searchers bill.”
On July 27, 2023, PBI-Colombia posted: “Today vice minister @liliasolanor [Lilia Solano] facilitated an important push for law 242, protection for #WomenSearchers promoted by @nydia_erika. There was the participation of @ONU [United Nations] Women, @OACNUDH [the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights-Central America and the Caribbean], and the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Defence.”
On October 27, 2023, PBI-Colombia posted: “We were with @nydia_erika at the meeting with @ONUMujeresCol [the United Nations agency in Colombia for gender equality and the empowerment of women] and @ONUHumanRights [UN Human Rights Colombia] to follow up on the draft Law for the Comprehensive Protection of #WomenSearchers of Victims of #MissingPersons.”
On February 27, 2024, PBI-Colombia posted: “Talking at the headquarters of the @nydia_erika Foundation about the importance of advancing and making a reality the Law Project on Guarantees for Women Seekers, a pioneering initiative presented last week to the UN Committee against Enforced Disappearances.”
PBI-Colombia was also present alongside Yanette Bautista on April 4, 2024, when Bill No. 242 was approved in the Senate.
Then on June 18, 2024, Law 2364 of 2024, the Comprehensive Law for the Protection of the Rights of Women Searchers, was ratified by President Gustavo Petro.
On October 23, 2025, when the Foundation launched a network and campaign on Law 2364, PBI-Colombia posted: “From PBI Colombia, we reiterate our support for FNEB to strengthen protective environments, support the implementation of #Law2364, and continue contributing to justice, truth, and peacebuilding.”
And now today, January 29, 2026, PBI-Colombia is sharing the good news: “Presidency signs the Decree authorizing the Women Seekers Act. Congratulations @fundacionnydiaerikabautista for persistence and may this achievement continue to be a light on the way.”
Peace Brigades International has been accompanying the “Nydia Erika Bautista” Foundation (FNEB) occasionally since 2007 and in full since 2016.
The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala project has posted on social media:
“Last week, #PBI accompanied the Poqomam People’s Peaceful Resistance to two key technical meetings:
One on the right to water, held at the Presidential Commission against Discrimination and Racism against Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala (CODISRA).
The other was held at the Municipality of Chinautla and focused on the pollution affecting communities.
Both meetings were made possible thanks to the Resistance’s constant struggle against the pollution they face in their territories, for access to water, and for the right to live in a healthy environment.”
“In 1997, the State began to issue mining licenses in the area, without taking into account its inhabitants, and therefore ignoring the right to prior, free and informed consultation contained in Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), ratified by the Congress of the Republic on March 5, 1996.
The mining exploitation [has] strong negative impacts on the population: pollution of the environment that causes, among others, respiratory diseases; landslides and infrastructure collapses; [and] cracks in houses.
The absence of a response to these problems has made the situation in Santa Cruz de Chinautla unbearable, leading the indigenous authorities of Chinautla to start a sit-in on June 27, 2022, to stop the illegal operation of the sand companies.
With the beginning of the sit-in, located at the entrance of the Piedrinera San Luis company at km 12 of the road to Chuarrancho (where trucks constantly pass carrying tons of stones and sand destined for the construction sector), our accompaniment and our visits to the encampment intensified.
Since the sit-in began, the security situation has worsened, increasing threats against people in the Resistance. All this keeps the population in fear and worry.”
We continue to follow this.
PBI-Canada travelled to Poqomam territory, met with the community, observed some of the mining activities, and visited the plantón on May 1, 2023.
The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has posted on social media: “We attend the presentation of the CIDH [Inter-American Commission on Human Rights] report on the impact of human rights violations.”
Caracol Radio reports: “The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) presented a report on the situation of violence in Colombia and the impact it has on human rights. It concludes that, despite the progress and efforts to build peace, there are still structural factors such as inequality, discrimination and the absence of the State in large areas of the territory.”
That article adds: “The report makes 57 recommendations to the Colombian State, including the creation of a broad space for national dialogue as a central axis to move towards peace with justice.”
Infobae further reports: “Referring to the 57 recommendations of the IACHR, [Commission president José Luis Caballero Ochoa] said: ‘The central axes are in the first recommendations to continue with the peace process and dialogue with armed actors; The first, in fact, is committed to a national dialogue. It is very timely that the Commission opens the report like this because this can help Colombian society to build agreements and eliminate polarization.’”
And BluRadio highlights: “On the murder of social leaders, which in the last year exceeded 180 cases, the president of the IACHR was emphatic: ‘You have to protect defenders, you have to protect social leaders. We have expressed this a lot to the Colombian State; it is an obligation that they have to attend to with greater prestige.’ In addition, he pointed out that ‘we are also with protection measures, precautionary measures for defenders and social leaders. This is an issue that the Commission is very concerned about and I believe that the State has to be at the forefront with that protection.’”
The full report with its 57 recommendations can be read here. We draw particular attention to recommendations 27 to 32:
Human rights defenders, social and community leaders, and journalists
Create a national registry of attacks against human rights defenders and social and community leaders, as well as journalists, which, among other things, contains:
Detailed and georeferenced information on each of the acts of violence against this population, as well as the status of ongoing investigations;
Variables that enable the disaggregation of information based on ethnicity, race, gender, and intersectionality;
Information that enables the development of strategies for prevention, protection, and state accountability;
Include in the Single Victims Registry human rights defenders and social and community leaders as victims of the armed conflict due to their role in defending and promoting human rights.
Issue the Comprehensive Public Policy on Guarantees, agreed upon with civil society, including concrete actions, an action plan, a budget, and inter-institutional coordination for its implementation.
To this end, among other measures, the following is recommended:
This policy should articulate policies, programs, and plans for the protection of human rights defenders and social and community leaders, guaranteeing a response by the State to threats against defenders and leaders, its consistency with ruling SU-546/23, the Early Warning System of the Ombudsman’s Office, consultation with protected persons, and an ethnic-racial, gender, territorial, and institutional co-responsibility approach.
Adopt effective and comprehensive measures for the protection of human rights defenders with social and community leadership, as well as journalists and media workers, through differentiated risk assessment protocols, the implementation of preventive measures, the institutional strengthening of technical risk assessment capacities, and the diligent and thorough investigation of attacks, in compliance with the obligations to prevent, protect, and guarantee human rights.
Design, implement, and evaluate a work plan for the protection of journalists from community media and peace radio stations, within a reasonable time frame. To this end, its sustainability must be guaranteed and institutional support promoted with a territorial, participatory, and differential approach, recognizing its role in peacebuilding and local democracy.
Design, implement, and evaluate actions aimed at strengthening the National Protection Unit in material and professional terms within a reasonable timeframe. To this end, it should focus on the implementation of measures for defenders and leaders from indigenous, Afro-descendant, and peasant communities, as well as journalists, ensuring the participation of protected persons and taking into account ethnic-racial and gender perspectives.
The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has posted on social media:
“On January 25, Honduran Women’s Day, we observed a peaceful march by feminist organizations in downtown Tegucigalpa. During the demonstration, we saw a contingent of the Armed Forces fire tear gas at the women defenders. We express our concern about this violence perpetrated by state forces against women in Honduras. We recall that in the Universal Periodic Review of November 2025, a total of 33 countries urged Honduras to take measures to combat violence against women.”
Canada is one of those 33 countries. It called on the Government of Honduras to “strengthen enforcement of Article 118-A of the Penal Code, which defines and penalizes femicide, by improving prevention, investigation, and prosecution of gender-based violence.”
Infobae reports: “Violence that especially affects women and girls is once again at the forefront in Honduras. According to data reported by the Violence Observatory of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), at least 200 murders of women were recorded by the end of 2025.”
That article further notes: “In the first days of 2026 alone, specialized organizations have already documented more than 15 female deaths – most of them classified as femicides – which leads feminist groups and human rights organizations to demand that the State take immediate measures of protection, improve institutional responses, and actions to ensure justice for victims.”
The Spanish news agency EFE adds: “Feminist groups in Honduras on Sunday expressed their fear that the next conservative government of President-elect Nasry Asfura will eliminate or weaken state entities dedicated to the defense of women’s rights, in a context marked by high rates of femicides.”
Mobilization met with tear gas
Criterio.hn has explained: “On January 25 of each year, Honduras commemorates Honduran Women’s Day, a date that went down in history after the right to vote and political participation of women was won in 1955.”
Contracorriente reports: “This Sunday, January 25, 2026, while carrying out a symbolic act in commemoration of Honduran Women’s Day in Tegucigalpa, a group of women demonstrators was repressed with pepper spray and beatings by the Military Police. … [The mobilization started] from Morazán Boulevard to Tegucigalpa’s Central Park. The route was marked by the closure of several streets due to checkpoints installed by the Armed Forces and the National Police, which prevented the mobilization from reaching its final destination [the Central Plaza].”
Nubia Casco of the November 25 Platform tells EFE of her concerns about the Asfura government (that was sworn into office a few days after this mobilization): “Now we are entering a far-right government, with the threat of the disappearance of women’s institutions and others of citizen participation and civil society. For us it is a fear … a very dark future is looming.”
Canada thanks Honduras for its participation in the Universal Periodic Review. We welcome the positive steps taken by Honduras toward eliminating violence against women and girls, supporting survivors of intimate partner violence, promoting safe and dignified human mobility, and the reintegration of returnees.
Canada recommends that Honduras:
Fully implement the National Protection Mechanism by establishing robust accountability measures for state authorities who fail to provide adequate protection to human rights defenders, including Indigenous rights defenders, environmental rights defenders, and journalists.
Strengthen enforcement of Article 118-A of the Penal Code, which defines and penalizes femicide, by improving prevention, investigation, and prosecution of gender-based violence.
Enhance the independence and integrity of the justice system by establishing a transparent judicial appointment process in line with the UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary.
Advance questions
What concrete measures is Honduras implementing to demilitarize its prison system and broader public security structures, in accordance with international human rights standards and recommendations from treaty bodies, including the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture?
Could Honduras elaborate on efforts to strengthen the National Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders, particularly regarding its independence, effectiveness, and accessibility for those working in high-risk areas such as land, environmental, and Indigenous rights?
George had been participating in a re-occupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park in south-western Ontario.
George’s family was one of 18 families displaced from the Stony Point First Nation (about 75 kilometres north-west of London, Ontario) in 1942 when the federal government expropriated the land to build a military base. The government had promised to return the land after World War II, but at the time of George’s death, 53 years after that dispossession, the land was still occupied by the military.
George’s family moved back to Stony Point, then known as Camp Ipperwash, in 1993. After decades of writing letters, meetings and signing petitions, 35 land defenders began a reoccupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park on September 4, 1995.
Notably, the park contained burial grounds that the land defenders said were not being respected or protected.
On September 5, Ontario Premier Mike Harris met with several government officials. The provincial Attorney General later testified that Harris shouted: “I want the fucking Indians out of the park.” A recording also emerged of police officers discussing the premier’s view that the government had “tried to pacify and pander to these people far too long.”
George was shot the following day.
The reoccupation of the park continued and by September 9 the provincial police, further escalating the situation, requested assistance from the Canadian Forces, including two Huey helicopters to be placed on standby.
On September 10, the Peace Brigades International-North America Project (PBI-NAP) reported that it had received a verbal invitation to “be observers for First Nations people if needed; be present during discussions between the different groups as a nonpartisan witness; do accompaniment for anyone fearing further violence on the part of the police; write nonpartisan reports on what we witness and hear.”
By July/August 1996, PBI-NAP reported: “PBI has made three more visits to the area of Ipperwash.”
Lessons from the Ipperwash Inquiry
On November 12, 2003, a public inquiry was launched by the Ontario government under Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty.
It produced a four volume 1,533-page Ipperwash Inquiry Report released on May 30, 2007, that contained 100 recommendations.
PBI-Canada recalls that the Ipperwash Inquiry included recommendations on how Indigenous protests and occupations could be addressed to prevent the killing of another land defender
“Heavily armed raids” as a “national best practice”
The primary threat to the lives of Indigenous land defenders today arguably comes from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Community Response Unit-British Columbia (CRU-BC).
CRU-BC is the new name for the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG), now under a systemic investigation by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC).
CBC has reported: “Between 2019 and 2021, the unit grabbed national attention for its heavily armed raids on Wet’suwet’en-led blockades as well as its Fairy Creek operation on Vancouver Island in 2021.”
And while the C-IRG/CRU-BC is focused in British Columbia, RCMP Staff Sgt. Kris Clark told The Tyee in early-2024 that C-IRG’s approach to public disorder has been adopted as a “national best practice”.
Video of RCMP C-IRG raid on Wet’suwet’en territory, November 19, 2021.
Ipperwash recommendations forgotten?
George died 31 years ago this coming September. He remains the only land defender killed in this country in modern history. The Inquiry into his death released its recommendations 19 years ago this coming May.
As the Canadian government seeks to “cut red tape and fast-track major nation-building projects” throughs its Major Projects Office, there is a likelihood of Indigenous resistance to these projects on their lands.
Can the Ipperwash recommendations be applied to the emerging situation on Gitanyow territory in northern British Columbia as land defenders their pledge to blockade the construction of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) fracked gas pipeline?
Have the recommendations been implemented both provincially and federally?
Have they been forgotten?
Were they sufficient?
Are new practices and protocols needed?
PBI-Canada will be conducting an analysis on the lessons learned from the killing of George to contribute to ensuring that another Indigenous land and environmental defender isn’t killed in Canada.
PBI-Mexico accompanies meeting at SEMARNAT on strengthening the Protection Mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists
A Government of Mexico Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) press release notes: “On January 26, the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, met with 13 civil society organizations dedicated to the protection of environmental defenders and with staff from the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists of the Ministry of the Interior, with the aim of promoting concrete actions of institutional coordination in the matter.”
The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project was one of the organizations at this meeting in Mexico City.
The press release quotes Secretary Bárcena stating: “For Semarnat and Profepa [the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection], the protection of environmental defenders is a priority and is part of the commitments that Mexico assumed within the framework of the Escazú Agreement. …We want to strengthen institutional collaboration and advance in concrete actions, with the active participation of civil society to guarantee effective protection for environmental defenders.”
The press release further highlights: “Meetings will be held prior to COP4 of the Escazú Agreement with the purpose of presenting joint proposals that reflect the articulated work between government and civil society.”
The fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP4) to the Escazú Agreement is scheduled for April 22–24, 2026, in Santiago, Chile.
After the meeting at SEMARNAT, Espacio OSC commented on social media: “We welcome the dialogue and agreements to jointly promote a policy to protect environmental defenders. We appreciate the leadership of @aliciabarcena and are confident that we will make progress in inter-institutional coordination and dialogue with civil society.”
Webinar, February 12
On Thursday February 12 at 3 pm ET (2 pm in Mexico City), PBI-Mexico, Espacio OSC and PBI-Canada are jointly holding a webinar on strengthening the Protection Mechanism.
The speakers include Elizabeth Guadalupe Mosqueda Rivera (with the Consortium for Parliamentary Dialogue and Equity Oaxaca), Héctor Hugo Arreola Galván (with the Zeferino Ladrillero Human Rights Center), Mario Hurtado Cardozo (Espacio OSC) and Aledia Quintana Ordaz (from the National Network of Human Rights Defenders).
(Left to right): Elizabeth Guadalupe Mosqueda Rivera, Héctor Hugo Arreola Galván, Mario Hurtado Cardozo, Aledia Quintana Ordaz.
To register for this webinar, click here.
This webinar follows the advocacy visit by Elizabeth and Hugo in September 2025 to Ottawa where they met with Members of Parliament, Global Affairs Canada officials, and civil society allies to amplify the call to strengthen the Protection Mechanism.
And it precedes the Team Canada Trade Mission (TCTM) to Mexico from February 15 to 20 that will be led by Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs, Internal Trade and One Canadian Economy.
At the United Nations Universal Periodic Review session held on January 24, 2024, Canada recommended that Mexico: “Strengthen, from an intersectional and gender perspective, the federal Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, specifically in the areas of prevention, protection, investigation, and reparation.”
Following the killings of two human rights defenders – legal observer Renee Good and neighbourhood protector Alex Pretti – by federal agents in Minneapolis in January 2026, questions are emerging about the role that a Canadian company plays in the equipping of Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) operations.
HRDs killed by federal agents
Renee Good was shot to death by an ICE agent on January 7, 2026.
The BBC has reported: “Several state leaders have said that Good was at the scene of an ICE raid in the south of Minneapolis as a legal observer – a volunteer who monitors police and security forces at protests and operations. Their aim is to help maintain calm, deter misconduct and ensure legal rights are respected.”
On the day Pretti was killed, Minnesota State Senator Omar Fateh told a Democracy Now! correspondent: “This morning, Alex was outside with all our neighbours, serving as a neighbourhood protector recording ICE when ICE comes into the community. We’ve had neighbourhood response groups come together, prepare, organize each other. …What we saw on camera was Alex peacefully observing. He had a camera on his hand. He was tackled, he was pummeled, and he was executed.”
Minnesota State Representative Aisha Gomez stated on an MSN interview: “How many deaths in the street, extrajudicial executions of US citizens engaging in constitutionally protected speech and activities is enough?”
US civil society speaks out
Amnesty International USA has called “on Congress to reject any additional funding for ICE and to immediately take steps to hold ICE accountable for the deaths and other human rights violations it has caused, and to end these deadly enforcement practices.” They further note: “Not one more life should be lost. Not one more dime should be spent enabling this horror.”
Ida Sawyer, crisis, conflict and arms director at Human Rights Watch, has also commented: “Nationwide patterns of abuse by ICE and Border Patrol reveal a dangerous and expanding security force operating with impunity.”
Human Rights Watch further notes: “International human rights law stipulates that law enforcement officers should only intentionally use lethal force as a last resort, when strictly unavoidable to protect life. International human rights standards also require a prompt, effective, thorough, independent, impartial, and transparent investigation of a potentially unlawful death.”
And on January 27, 1,025 organizations signed a joint letter to the US Congress to express their “horror, outrage and deep grief about the news that federal agents have executed a human being in broad daylight on the streets of Minneapolis.”
The organizations that signed this letter include the American Friends Service Committee, Amazon Watch, Amnesty International USA, Grassroots International, Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice, Oil Change International, Public Citizen, Stand.earth, and the Washington Office on Latin America.
ICE armoured vehicles made by Ontario company
On December 2, 2025, the Canadian Press reported: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earmarked millions of dollars for a bulk order for 20 armoured vehicles from Canadian defence manufacturer Roshel… The justification for the sole-source order was published in a partially redacted document on a U.S. federal procurement website on Nov. 26, and the site says a contract was awarded on Nov. 28.”
The Canadian Press subsequently reported that ICE has stated that the purchase falls under Buy American provisions given “production of the Roshel Senator emergency response vehicle originates in the United States.”
While Roshel is a Canadian company based in Brampton, Ontario, it opened a plant in Shelby Township, Michigan in December 2024. Ontario Premier Doug Ford had previously stated that he thought that it was “fantastic” that ICE had ordered armoured vehicles from a company based in Brampton. Global News reports Ford saying: “I’ve been through that plant. …We’ll take orders anywhere in the world.”
If the contract was awarded to Roshel by the Department of Homeland Security on November 28, 2025.
If the contract was awarded to Roshel by the Department of Homeland Security on November 28, 2025, and the order was to be completed within 30 days, that would put the delivery date around December 26-27, 2025.
Canadian civil society speaks out
After the shooting death of Alex Pretti, several Canadian organizations highlighted the use of Roshel armoured vehicles by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Ontario Premier Ford now says: “I don’t direct companies to sell military vehicles down south or around the world… We don’t have anything to do with what crosses the border… If you want to talk to the federal government that controls the borders, that controls trade…”
In early December 2025, before the killing of Good and Pretti, the Canadian Press reported: “Kelsey Gallagher from Project Ploughshares, a non-governmental organization that promotes peace, says if the vehicles were sold to any other security service in the world with the same documented pattern of abuse, Ottawa likely would step in to stop it.”
Trade minister Maninder Sidhu visited the Roshel plant in Brampton just days before the contract between Roshel and ICE was signed. He is the Member of Parliament for Brampton East.
This week, Insauga reported: “Global Affairs Canada declined to comment on the sale, and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand has previously said the federal government was not ‘contacted regarding any permits for this transaction’.”
On January 27, the Toronto Star reported: “In Ottawa, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Wednesday there’s ‘not a restriction’ for Canadian companies selling such vehicles to the U.S.”
On January 28, the Canadian Press reported: “Asked what he makes of criticism of Canadian companies providing vehicles and other infrastructure to ICE, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Tuesday [January 27] that he would ‘let the respective Canadian companies answer that question’. ‘Overall, we have certain laws that restrict the ability of Canadian companies to trade with the entities or countries. In the particular case of the United States, that’s not a restriction’, Anandasangaree said. ‘In respect to who they’re selling items to, I would let Canadian company leaders answer that.’”
Photo: Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu visited the Roshel manufacturing facility in Brampton, Ontario on November 23, 2025 (five days before Roshel signed the contract with ICE).
“Substantial risk”
In recent years, the Canadian government appears to have suggested that while a country may have a problematic overall human rights record, there needs to be direct proof of Canadian military goods being used in those human rights violations.
In November 2019, CBC News reported: “Global Affairs Canada says it has found no credible evidence linking Canadian exports of military equipment to human rights violations by the government of Saudi Arabia… While the document acknowledges that Saudi Arabia’s overall human rights record remains problematic, it says ‘officials found no credible evidence linking Canadian exports of military equipment or other controlled items to any human rights or humanitarian law violations committed by the Saudi government’. …The document says the department believes there is ‘no substantial risk’ that current Canadian exports of military equipment will result in any human rights violations within Saudi Arabia.”
The CANSEC arms show
The United States has sent delegations in past years to CANSEC in Ottawa.
Last year, under the Trump Administration, the United States Embassy in Ottawa posted on Instagram: “Deputy Chief of Mission Marybeth Turner led the U.S. delegation to #CANSEC, Canada’s top defense, security, and emerging technology event.”
Two years prior, under the Biden Administration, the U.S. delegation included U.S. Ambassador to Canada David L. Cohen as well as the Minister Counselor, Commercial Affairs; Defense Ataché & Sr. Defense Official; Head – Office of Defense Cooperation; Deputy Senior Commercial Officer; Commercial Specialist – Defense; and Commercial Specialist – Security.
It is possible that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could also participate in some way.
We cannot confirm this because the organizer of CANSEC, the Ottawa-based Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), does not make publicly available the list of the 60+ international delegations that attend CANSEC.
However, CADSI does highlight though that “CANSEC welcomes more than 15,000+ registrants from all over the world, including military leaders and government officials.”
The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has posted on social media:
“This morning, during the inauguration ceremony of Nasry Asfura as president of Honduras, we observed a mobilization in Comayagüela by several civil society organizations that expressed concern about the electoral process. According to these organizations, last November’s elections took place in a context of intense pressure on the country’s common goods and were not democratic, partly due to interference by the US government. At PBI, we urge the international community to continue listening to human rights organizations such as Plataforma Agraria, Copinh Honduras, and ARCAH, whose role is fundamental to strengthening democracy in the country.”
The Associated Press reports: “Trump-backed businessman Nasry Asfura was sworn in Tuesday [January 27] as president of Honduras, and pledged to create jobs, crack down on crime and improve key social services like education and health care.”
That article adds: “Asfura’s rise to power was marked with controversy after U.S. President Donald Trump threw his support behind the Honduran conservative in the lead up to the election. Competitors called the elections fraudulent as vote counts dragged on for weeks and Asfura won by less than a 1% lead.”
It further notes: “Asfura is from the same political party as former President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was pardoned and freed from U.S. prison by Trump in the midst of the election. Hernández, who was extradited to the U.S. after leaving office in 2022, was serving a 45-year sentence for his role in a drug trafficking operation that moved hundreds of tons of cocaine to the U.S.”
Agence France-Presse also reports: “His win gives Trump another ally in Latin America after conservatives campaigning heavily on crime and corruption replaced leftists in Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Argentina.”
And that article adds: “After his win, he traveled to the United States to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and also visited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Photo: PBI-Honduras, January 27, 2026.
Canada and the European Union
The Embassy of Canada in Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua has not commented on social media about the inauguration today.
On January 11, the Embassy did post on social media: “Canada urges respect for #Honduras November 30 election results and calls for a peaceful transition. There is no place for political violence. With #OAS [Organization of American States] and #EU [European Union] observation missions confirming free and fair elections, we look forward to working with president-elect Nasry Asfura.”
Significantly though, Infobae now reports: “The assumption of Nasry Asfura as president of Honduras has unleashed notable international support, anticipating a stage characterized by an agenda of cooperation in the areas of trade, development and institutionality.” The support of the European Union is reflected in financing operations that, if completed, would become the first lines of credit signed with the country in more than a decade, according to the European ambassador in Tegucigalpa, Gonzalo Fournier. The bloc projects between 369 and 500 million euros for electricity transmission and infrastructure projects, along with 60 million euros for sustainable finance and another 6 million euros to strengthen the business sector.”
The Infobae article further notes: “The United States also made a presence at the inauguration ceremony through its chargé d’affaires in Tegucigalpa, Colleen A. Hoey, who asserted on the official embassy platforms that Asfura’s arrival represents “the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between the United States and Honduras, with opportunities to advance together on shared security priorities, economic cooperation and the strengthening of ties between our nations.”
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