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PBI-Colombia accompanies dhColombia at hearing for young man killed by the ESMAD riot police during the 2021 national strike

By
Brent Patterson
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The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has posted on social media:

“Here at PBI Colombia, we are accompanying the Associated Network of Human Rights Defenders (dhColombia) at the hearings in the case of Cristian Castillo de la Ossa, a young man killed by the Esmad [Mobile Anti-Riot Squadron] in 2021.

Today, the Attorney General’s Office dismissed and disqualified two former members of the Esmad for their role in Cristian’s death and in the serious injuries sustained by other people who were at the protest.

DH Colombia will continue to demand the responses it considers most just for this type of crime and, in this way, continue to contribute to the reparation for the families who are still demanding justice for all victims of police repression.

In the photo, his parents Edward and Sixta, alongside members of the Bogotá team.”

In June 2023, dhColombia explained on their website: “Two years ago, the young Cristian David Castillo de la Ossa, 23 years old, was extrajudicially executed. Cristian David is one of the many fatalities of the 2021 national strike. On this occasion, on June 22 in the Suba sector, northwest of Bogotá, Cristian David was killed by a member of the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad – ESMAD – who fired a grenade launcher in a direct and linear manner, violating the parameters and protocols defined nationally and internationally, which hit the young man’s head.”

dhColombia has now commented:

“Although this organization, which advocates for victims of state abuse, regards the length of the sentence imposed as a step forward compared to similar cases, it considers that the disciplinary justice system’s response remains inadequate and re-victimizing, given that the Attorney General’s Office could have extended the sentence to 20 years. For this reason, an appeal will be lodged to secure a fairer outcome at the appeal stage.”

Following the court ruling, Semana reported: “Videos, testimonies, forensic and laboratory reports, and an autopsy led the Attorney General’s Office to impose a sanction of disqualification and dismissal of 12 years against patrolman Gonzalo Moreno, for the death of the young Cristián David Castillo de la Ossa, which occurred on June 22, 2021, in the midst of the demonstrations that were taking place around the Portal de Suba. in Bogotá. The initial ruling said that Patrolman Moreno would have fired a grenade launcher rifle that hit a gas canister at Castillo de la Ossa, who was passing through the area. Despite medical efforts, the young man passed away at 12:38 a.m. on June 23.”

Minuto60 further reports: “The Ordinary Disciplinary Chamber of Trial made the decision to dismiss the patrolman and sanction him with disqualification for 12 years from holding public office and the measure removes him from the Police and prevents him from working with the State during that period.”

That article adds: “The disciplinary process advanced in parallel with other judicial investigations, while relatives of the victim insisted that it was a homicide and not an isolated event. The decision of the Attorney General’s Office comes several years after the events and is interpreted as a step in the recognition of individual responsibilities within a broader context of questioning the actions of the public forces during that period.”

Dismantle ESMAD

Several PBI accompanied organizations – including dhColombia, the Association for Social Research and Action (Nomadesc), the Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP), and the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (Credhos) – have called for the ESMAD to be dismantled.

In May 2021, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) supported the call for the dismantling of the ESMAD.

In June 2022, then-presidential candidate Gustavo Petro promised to dismantle the riot squad. Petro was sworn in as the President of Colombia on August 7, 2022. In June 2023, the Petro government changed the name of the ESMAD to the Dialogue and Order Maintenance Unit (UNDMO).

At least three PBI accompanied organizations – including the CSPP, the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective (CCAJAR), and the Corporation for Judicial Liberty (CJL) – stated that this reform was insufficient.

Accompaniment

Peace Brigades International has been accompanying the Associated Network of Human Rights Defenders (dhColombia) since its founding in 2016, and Jorge Molano, one of its founders, since 2009.

PBI-Colombia accompanies Justice and Peace on visit to Putumayo, including with two days with ADISPA

By
Brent Patterson
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The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has posted on social media:

“At the end of April, we accompanied @justiciapazcolombia in Putumayo. For a week, together with the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace (JyP), we first visited the Nasa people of Putumayo, comprised of 38 communities in Putumayo and one in Nariño, with an approximate population of 8,000 Nasa indigenous people. Then, during our visit, we learned about the organizational processes of the Ancurá Civil Society Reserve Zone (ZRSC) and the Putumayo Peasant Association (ACADISP). Finally, we spent two days with the Association for Integral and Sustainable Development of the Amazonian Pearl (ADISPA) in the participatory development of its Sustainable Development Plan, aimed at improving the quality of life, protecting the environment, and strengthening the organizational structure in a territory of more than 22,000 hectares in the Amazon.

These spaces allowed us to learn about and listen directly to the communities, their processes, and their needs, as well as share who we are at PBI, our mandate, and the work we do.”

We continue to follow this.

PBI-Mexico and PBI-Honduras seek former volunteers to support field teams with May 11 and May 13 deadlines

By
Brent Patterson
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Two Peace Brigades International entities are seeking former volunteers to support the work of their field teams in Mexico and Honduras.

MEXICO – May 11

PBI-Mexico has posted: “The Mexico Project is seeking former volunteers interested in returning to the field to support the Field Team.”

They add: “Currently, the MEP has only one Field Team based in Cuernavaca, Morelos, from where mobile teams travel to the states of Sonora, Puebla, Michoacán, and occasionally to Oaxaca and Mexico City. However, we are in the process of opening a second Field Team headquarters in Hermosillo, Sonora. The opening will be in the fall, but related activities are already underway. Therefore, we are looking for motivated individuals with a strong commitment to PBI’s mandate and an interest in participating in the process of establishing a new Field Team, as well as a desire to strengthen PBI’s work in Mexico for a period of 6 months.”

The deadline to apply is May 11. Interviews will be held between May 12 and May 22. The start date is preferably between May 25 and June 13, 2026.

Further details are here.

HONDURAS – May 13

And PBI-Honduras has posted: “The PBI Honduras Project is calling on former volunteers with experience of working with PBI in Latin America to join our field team from June this year. The period we need to cover is between 4 and 6  months.”

The deadline to apply is May 13. Interviews will be held between May 18 and 21. The start date is mid-June 2026.

Further details are here.

PBI-Canada disappointed by the BC Court of Appeals decision to uphold conviction of Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Wing Chief Dsta’hyl

By
Brent Patterson
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Video still: Chief Dsta’hyl in the trailer for the documentary “Yintah”.

Dsta’hyl, also known as Adam Gagnon, is the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Wing Chief of the Likhts’amisyu Clan and a human rights defender.

JURIST News reports: “The Court of Appeal for British Columbia unanimously upheld the criminal contempt conviction against Chief Dsta’hyl (Adam Gagnon) on Tuesday [April 28]. He was found in breach of a court injunction by protesting against a pipeline project in the territories of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation.”

PBI-Canada laments this decision and is concerned that the continued use of injunctions and marginalization of Indigenous laws further puts at risk the safety and security of Indigenous land and environmental defenders protecting their lands and waters from extractive megaprojects.

The use of injunctions against Indigenous rights

The JURIST News article continues: “At issue in the appeal was whether Chief Dsta’hyl could make a defense on the ground that he was acting in accordance with a co-existing Indigenous legal order.”

The article further explains: “In 2019, the British Columbia Supreme Court issued an injunction banning protests in the construction area of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project. Defying the injunction, Chief Dsta’hyl organized a blockade in an attempt to halt the construction in 2021.”

But University of Ottawa associate law professor Aimée Craft – an expert on Indigenous laws, treaties and water – says: “What the injunction hasn’t addressed … is the conflict of laws issue between Indigenous legal orders and … Western legal systems.”

Further commenting on the use of injunctions, professors Shiri Pasternak and Irina Ceric have written: “It is now increasingly clear that the injunction is a legal tool of political expediency. It has an almost arbitrary authority to empower law enforcement to contain and criminalize people by securing vague geographical boundaries and broad powers of removal, often indefinitely. In the hands of industry and governments alike, the injunction, still billed as an extraordinary legal remedy, has emerged as the all-too-ordinary response to Indigenous assertions of jurisdiction and solidarity.”

After examining 100 cases across Canada, the Yellowhead Institute found that 76 per cent of injunctions filed against First Nations were granted, while 81 per cent filed by First Nations against corporations were denied.

The Yellowhead Institute report comments: “When First Nations contest the authority of the province or the regulatory processes, like environmental assessment, that fail to acknowledge their lack of consent, companies take advantage of a legal system built to protect the interests of property. Injunctions have worked as a blunt instrument in opposition to Indigenous law.”

Chief Dsta’hyl designated a prisoner of conscience

The actions by Chief Dsta’hyl in violation of an interlocutory injunction prohibiting anyone from physically impeding construction of the TC Energy Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline took place between October 17 and 26, 2021. He was convicted on February 20, 2024. The Crown had sought 60 to 90 days in jail for him. He was sentenced on July 3, 2024, to two months of house arrest.

On July 31, 2024, Amnesty International stated that it had “made the unprecedented decision to designate Likhts’amisyu Clan Wing Chief Dsta’hyl of the Wet’suwet’en Nation as the first-ever designated Amnesty International prisoner of conscience in Canada.” At that time, Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International, commented: “The Canadian state has unjustly criminalized and confined Chief Dsta’hyl for defending the land and rights of the Wet’suwet’en people.”

Land defenders oppose PRGT

We continue to follow this notably in the context of the Government of Canada’s proposed fast-tracking of megaprojects including the construction of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) fracked gas pipeline opposed by the Gitxsan and Gitanyow nations in northern British Columbia.

If that pipeline receives fast-tracked approval from the Government of Canada-established Major Projects Office (MPO), and if it receives a final investment decision (FID) enabling it to move forward, Gitanyow land and environmental defenders have vowed to establish a blockade to stop its construction.

PBI-Canada is concerned that a repeat scenario could unfold in which an injunction is imposed that marginalizes Indigenous rights and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) deploy their Critical Response Unit-British Columbia (CRU-BC) in a militarized enforcement action that uses violence to repress Indigenous land defenders upholding their laws and rights on their territories.

On May Day 2026, workers face threats and attacks in Mexico, Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: The Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS) at the May Day march in Barrancabermeja, Colombia. The t-shirt says: “Workers of the world united in defence of life and dignity.”

On May Day 2026, Peace Brigades International-Canada remembers that union activists continue to face attacks and threats on their lives

Union leader killed in Sinaloa, Mexico

The day before May Day, Homar Salas Gastélum, the elected leader of the Union of Workers at the Service of the City of Culiacán (STASAC), was shot dead at his home in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico.

Journalist Rosario Castagnet comments: “The event does not occur in isolation. In Sinaloa, one of the historical epicenters of drug trafficking in Mexico, violence is articulated with political and economic disputes that exceed the criminal. The unions, in this scheme, function as key spaces of power, since they manage employment, resources and relations with the State. Salas’ death is part of this crossroads between local politics, informal economy and territorial control.”

El Pais also notes: “In one of his last publications, Salas had made a call for Workers’ Day on May 1 with the members of the union to march through Culiacán.”

Video still: The Cerezo Committee and the Labor human rights schools of the Committee Cerezo Mexico (OLEP) march on May Day in Mexico City. The banner says: “Dignified work, just salary/fair pay, security.”

Violence against trade unionists in Colombia

On May 1, El Colombiano reported: “Between 1971 and 2020, more than 20,0000 acts of violence against trade unionists have been recorded in Colombia. The figures were revealed by the Ombudsman’s Office within the framework of Labor Day. Among the types of violence identified are gender-based aggressions, threats against their families, sexual violence, as well as the delegitimization of their leadership and participation in union spaces.”

PBI-Colombia accompanied the Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) at the May Day rally in Bogota and is accompanying the Association for Social Research and Action (Nomadesc) as it marks the 5th anniversary of the national strike and social uprising that began on April 28, 2021.

On May 7, 2021, the Canadian union Unifor stated: “Unifor, global labour, NGOs outraged by violent repression of protesters in Colombia since general strikes began Apr 28 against President Iván Duque’s neo-liberal economic plan. According to the New York Times today 24 dead, 87 missing.”

By the time the strike ended on July 15, 2021, there were estimated to be 74 deaths, 111 cases of missing persons, and numerous reports of police brutality. It was also reported that 7 trade unionists were killed that year.

Journalist killed in Guatemala

On April 26, journalist Carlos Humberto Cal Ical was killed in an armed incident in the department of Alta Verapaz.

The International Federation of Journalists (FIP) and the Association of Journalists of Guatemala (APG) condemned this murder.

On May Day, PBI-Guatemala shared on social media a message from the Break the Fear Network Guatemala. That network said: “Behind every news there is effort, vocation and commitment to society. Because reporting isn’t just a job… is a public service that enables people to make decisions, demand rights and build democracy. Journalism is also dignified work. Reporting is not a crime.”

Rural workers at risk in Honduras

And in their International Workers’ Day message, the National Union of Rural Workers (CNTC), which is accompanied by PBI-Honduras, stated: “For us, the farmers, work is not just a daily routine; it is the sacred bond with the land and the tireless struggle for our sovereignty.”

Among the proposals made on May Day by the Confederation of Workers of Honduras (CTH), the General Central of Workers (CGT) and the United Confederation of Workers of Honduras (CUTH), the main labour federations, was the demand for justice in cases of territorial and environmental conflict linked to extractive projects.

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

We continue to follow the safety and security situation of union and worker movement activists in Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.

Further reading: PBI-Canada observes vígil for the Toboso 19 outside the Embassy of the Philippines, May Day call to shut down CANSEC in Ottawa (May 2, 2026).

Photo: CREDHOS photo of the Workers’ Trade Union (USO) marching on May Day in Barrancabermeja, Colombia. Between 1986 and 2019, the Truth Commission documented 865 victimizing acts against USO members, including homicides, threats, and exiles. USO is the Canadian union Unifor’s partner union in Colombia.

PBI-Canada observes rally and march in Ottawa demanding the release of Global Sumud Flotilla human rights defenders from Israeli custody

By
Brent Patterson
-

On Saturday May 2, community members gathered outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Ottawa to “defend the Global Sumud Flotilla and continue the global pressure to break the illegal siege on Gaza.”

They later marched through the downtown area on Wellington Street.

Just prior to the departure of the Flotilla from Spain on April 12, Amnesty International stated: “Israeli authorities must ensure safe passage for these unarmed activists and human rights defenders.” Greenpeace International also explained: “Hundreds of medics, teachers, and eco-builders, with expertise in healthcare, education, and sustainable rebuilding, are sailing to support the people of Gaza.”

On the night of April 29-30, Israel intercepted 22 boats from the Flotilla in the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea and detained nearly 180 people from multiple countries, including two Canadians.

The Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, denounced this raid against the Flotilla by the Israeli military.

The Associated Press has further reported that Israeli authorities had taken two leaders of the Flotilla – Spanish citizen Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila – to Israel for questioning. They are being held in Shikma Prison in Israel.

The Haifa, Israel-based human rights organization and legal centre Adalah visited the two men in prison on Saturday May 2 and stated that Abukeshek “reported being kept hand-tied and blindfolded, and being forced to lie face-down on the floor from the moment of his seizure until this morning, resulting in bruising to his face and hands”, and that “Avila reported being subjected to extreme brutality by the Israeli military during the seizure of the vessels [including being] dragged face-down across the floor and beaten so severely that he passed out twice”.

In a joint statement, the Governments of Spain and Brazil said: “This flagrantly illegal action by the Israeli authorities outside their jurisdiction constitutes a violation of international law, which may be brought before international courts, and may constitute a criminal offence in our respective national jurisdictions.”

The statement adds: “The Governments of Spain and Brazil demand that the Government of Israel ensure the immediate return of their citizens with full guarantees of safety, and that immediate consular access be granted for their assistance and protection”

The Canadian Press notes the Canadians detained were Marie Tota, a registered nurse from Ontario, and Umir Tiar, a student from Quebec City. A third Canadian, Luiza Noura, was rescued by Greenpeace and Spanish NGO Open Arms after her boat was destroyed and she was left adrift in the sea.

Tota and Tiar have been released in Greece.

Tota says she was subjected to physical and psychological abuse by the Israeli military “for the so-called crime of attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza”, while Tiar says “some people were beaten, shot at by rubber bullets, some people were dragged on the floor by their arms and by their neck.”

Video stills: Marie Tota and Umir Tiar.

The organization Canadian Boat to Gaza highlights: “Though its own citizens were put into violent danger at the hands of the IOF, the Canadian government has remained absolutely silent.”

While 22 boats were intercepted on April 29-30, there are still 48 boats continuing with the intention of delivering aid to Gaza. One of those boats is the Canadian boat Perseverance that departed from Sicily on Sunday May 3.

PBI-Canada is following the Perseverance and her crew of human rights defenders via the Global Sumud Flotilla tracker here.

Photo: The Canadian crew of the Perseverance is now en route to Gaza.

Video still of First Mate Grace Matheson.

PBI-Mexico shares news of win by Peoples’ Front in Defence of Land and Water in struggle against landfill in San Pedro Cholula, Puebla

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: Residents have maintained a permanent blockade at the entrance of the landfill since March 21, 2024. PBI-Mexico accompanied the Peoples’ Front highway blockade on that day two years ago.

The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project has shared the news of an important win:

“For more than two years, the Cholultec peoples have fought for the closure of the sanitary landfill in San Pedro Cholula, Puebla.

The landfill, which received garbage from all over the region and even from neighboring states, was built on aquifers. Leachate from the landfill was contaminating the local water supply and the fields of surrounding farmers.

Peace Brigades International has accompanied the Peoples’ Front in Defense of Land and Water (FPDTA), which has worked with like-minded groups such as the Union of Peoples Against the Landfill, to stop the operation of the landfill and draw attention to this environmental crisis.

For more than two years, the Union of Peoples Against the Landfill and the People’s Front in Defense of Land and Water have maintained a constant sit-in to monitor the landfill and ensure that no more garbage enters.

During that time, they have endured threats, acts of intimidation and criminalization. Despite all this, they have persisted in their resistance and on March 25, 2026, they won an important victory.

In a meeting with the company that owns the landfill and with various levels of government, a series of agreements were signed. The company and the government definitively agreed to desist from any attempt to reopen the landfill and agreed on a closure plan to stop leachate seepage into the local water supply.

The fight will not end until the company and the government comply with their agreements, removing all machinery from the landfill and completing the environmental restoration plan. However, the agreements signed on March 25 are an important victory, the result of two years of courageous non-violent struggle.”

PBI-Canada extends its congratulations

PBI-Canada welcomes the news about this important win on March 25.

The previous month we spent four days with the Peoples’ Front and PBI-Mexico, including a visit to the encampment in San Pedro Cholula on February 21.

Photo: PBI-Canada coordinator Brent Patterson looks at a field adjacent to the garbage dump where the community would be lost to an expansion of the landfill.

More photos by PBI-Canada from February 21, 2026 visit.

PBI-Canada has followed the struggle against the landfill, including remembering seeing the poster in the days before March 21, 2024.

Photo: “Demonstration. Out landfill! We demand total cancellation and abandonment plan.”

We will now watch from Canada to see if the company and the government comply with the agreements they made on the landfill.

Angulo7 notes: “The agreement of March 31 … to desist from the expansion of the Cholula landfill on the adjacent land will be followed up. Another of the agreements reached … is that they will carry out an inspection in the coming days to review the leachate leaks after the closure of the Cholula landfill.”

We welcome the news that on April 9, El Sol de Puebla reported: “15 days after the signing of the agreement for the remediation of the property where the intermunicipal landfill of Cholula is located, on April 9, work began by the company Pro-Faj, to carry out the definitive closure of this space.”

We will be paying attention to the follow-up table that is scheduled to be held on Tuesday May 12 at 11:00 am.

Accompaniment

Peace Brigades International has accompanied the Peoples’ Front in Defence of Land and Water – Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala since February 2020.

The Peoples’ Front is an organization made up of 11 Indigenous Nahua communities from the states of Morelos, Puebla, and Tlaxcala.

They organize to defend their territory and to promote and exercise their right to self-determination as Indigenous peoples in the face of companies and projects seeking to industrialize their lands—efforts that have resulted in environmental harm and contamination.

As part of their opposition to megaprojects in the region, members of the FPDTA–MPT have faced killings, threats, attacks, repression, defamation, harassment, and criminalization.

Photos: It was a privilege to meet with Juan Carlos Flores Solis, the co-founder of the Peoples’ Front. He is a lawyer who provides legal advice to Indigenous Nahua communities that fight against the extraction and contamination of water. He was unjustly persecuted and imprisoned for ten months starting on April 7, 2014, for his work supporting people affected by the Morelos Integral Project (PIM) gas pipeline megaproject.

PBI-Colombia with the Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) at May Day rally in Bogota

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo by the CSPP.

The Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) has posted on social media:

“As CSPP, we took part in the May Day march as CVI, providing support at various points along the route across the country to safeguard and defend the right to protest.

On the streets, we reaffirmed that protesting is a right, not a crime, and that human rights support is key to safeguarding life, dignity and social mobilisation.

#DefendFreedom #MayDay”

Accompaniment

Peace Brigades International has accompanied the Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) since 1998.

Additional reading: PBI-Canada observes vígil for the Toboso 19 outside the Embassy of the Philippines, May Day call to shut down CANSEC in Ottawa (May 2, 2026).

PBI-Canada to observe rally in Ottawa to defend the Global Sumud Flotilla and the immediate release to two civilians from Israeli custody

By
Brent Patterson
-

Starting at 2 pm on Saturday May 2, community members will gather outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Ottawa to “defend the Global Sumud Flotilla and continue the global pressure to break the illegal siege on Gaza.”

The social media promotion for this protest outside the Prime Minister’s Office highlights: “On the night of April 29-30, the zionist entity illegally intercepted 22 boats of the flotilla and kidnapped 180 civilians, among them 2 Canadians. An act of piracy, with full impunity. We denounce Canada’s silence and complicity with those violent attacks, the illegal siege on Gaza, and the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”

The civilians intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters were reportedly transferred by an army ship to Greek boats that then took them to Crete.

But the Flotilla says: “The nightmare isn’t over. Greek police are now trapping our battered crew on buses, denying them the freedom to leave while Saif and Thiago have been abducted and taken back to Occupied Palestine. Our participants remain unbroken: 60 participants have immediately launched a hunger strike.”

Canadian rescued by Greenpeace ship

The Canadian Press notes: “The Global Sumud Flotilla has identified the Canadians as Marie Tota, a nurse from Ontario, and Umir Tiar, a student from Quebec City. It said Luiza Noura, a third Canadian, was rescued by Greenpeace and Spanish NGO Open Arms after her boat was destroyed and she was left adrift in the sea.”

Greenpeace photo by Max Cavallari.

Two Flotilla members still in custody

The day before this protest, the Associated Press reported: “Israeli authorities said Friday [May 1] they were taking two high-profile activists [Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila] who led an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, and who were captured by Israel in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea, to Israel for questioning. The governments of Spain and Brazil accused Israel of ‘kidnapping’ its citizens.”

Alllegations of abuse

Novara Media adds: “Global Sumud Flotilla participants say they were punched, kicked, dragged across the floor with their hands tied, and shot at with real and rubber bullets on board an Israeli warship after they were kidnapped in international waters more than 500 nautical miles from Gaza.  …34 wounded participants – including two Brits – have been taken to hospital in Crete, flotilla organisers said, with broken bones and other injuries. One participant was reportedly knocked unconscious for several minutes, while another has serious injuries to their neck. Several have broken ribs and noses, and some appear to be wearing blood-stained clothes.”

The Guardian also reports: “Zack Schofield said the activists were held by Israel on a transport ship. He said the vessel had been retrofitted as a prison, with the main deck dominated by shipping containers surrounded by barbed wire. ‘They took people into the fourth shipping container and beat them with the butts of their rifles and batons, and with their fists and their feet,’ he said. ‘I saw a man shot at point-blank range with a rubber bullet in the leg and in the back.’ …Schofield alleged he witnessed a young Colombian woman being repeatedly punched in the ribs by an IDF soldier.”

The Flotilla continues

Novara Media highlights: “Flotilla organisers say the remaining boats – only 22 of 57 were intercepted – will continue to Gaza.”

Shut Down CANSEC, May 28

Al Jazeera reports: “Gur Tsabar, a spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla, described Israel’s boarding of its vessels as ‘a straight-up attack on unarmed civilian boats in international waters.’”

Deutsche Welle also reports: “Israeli military boats seized 15 ships near Crete, hundreds of miles from Gaza, according to the mission organizer, Global Sumud Flotilla. ‘Our boats were approached by military speedboats, self-identified as Israeli, pointing lasers and semi-automatic assault weapons ordering participants to the front of the boats and to get on their hands and knees,’ the organization said in a post on X.”

Tariq Ra’ouf also told Al Jazeera that drones had surrounded the Flotilla and had been flashing them with lights.

The navy vessels, military speedboats, lasers, semi-automatic assault weapons, drones and the component parts and technology that make them work are what the nearly 300 exhibitors at CANSEC will market to the 60+ delegations, including Israel, this coming Wednesday May 27 and Thursday May 28 in Ottawa.

We continue to follow this.

PBI-Canada observes vígil for the Toboso 19 outside the Embassy of the Philippines, May Day call to shut down CANSEC in Ottawa

By
Brent Patterson
-

On May 1, Anakbayan Ottawa and allies held a vigil outside the Embassy of the Philippines in Canada in Ottawa for the nineteen people killed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Toboso, Negros Occidental on April 19, 2026.

Among the 19 people killed were Lyle Prijoles, a Filipino American who advocated against US taxpayer dollars funding the bullets and bombs used by the AFP and Philippine National Police, community researcher Errol Wendell, university student Alyssa Alano who was studying land grabbing and militarization, journalist RJ Ledesma, and agrarian reform advocate Maureen Keil Santuyo.

The speakers at the vigil included Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, the National Chairperson of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), who is on an advocacy tour in Canada. Ka Daning held a drawing of Errol Wendell as he spoke. Wendell was a 24-year-old researcher with the Union of Agricultural Workers. He was also an artist.

The Toboso 19 were remembered with a moment of silence and the placing of drawings of them, flowers and candles at the front door of the Embassy.

The situation in the Philippines

The Anakbayan Ottawa social media post notes: “This massacre is directly connected to the current conditions of the Philippines which does not serve the people, but foreign interests and those in power.”

Militarization

Anakbayan says: “They chose to go to Negros because they understood the importance of being there, to learn from and serve the people. The people who are heavily exploited by land-grabbing, big landlords, displacement. All of which is backed by heavy militarization from the US backed Marcos Jr, regime who exploits the Philippines for its cheap export of natural resources.”

Land and environmental defenders

Global Witness and Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) have reported: “Since 2012, the Philippines has been ranked as the deadliest country in Asia for people protecting land and the environment, with mining linked to a third of all killings documented by Global Witness. …The military has been linked to the highest number of documented killings and detentions of land and environmental defenders in the Philippines over the past decade. These abuses have gone unchecked.”

The demand for an investigation

Numerous groups have called for an immediate and independent investigation into the Toboso massacre, including BAYAN Canada, the human rights group Karapatan, the Human Rights Advocates Negros (HRAN), and the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) network.

May Day march

Those who had gathered at the Embassy then joined the annual May Day march.

The Philippines at CANSEC

Despite the well-documented human rights violations by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), there will be a delegation from the Philippines at the CANSEC arms show in Ottawa this coming May 27-28.

CANSEC brings together 60+ international delegations and nearly 300 weapons and technology companies including the biggest and most profitable weapons companies, such as Lockheed Martin (that has sold F-16 Block 70 fighter jets for “air-to-ground support” to the Philippines).

Highlighting the connections between militarization and human rights violations, Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos and Rosie Lucente from the International Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) spoke at the May Day rally outside the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) not long after the emergency vigil at the Embassy of the Philippines in Canada.

CADSI, located at 251 Laurier Avenue West, is the association of weapons and surveillance companies – including Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, BAE, General Dynamics, Elbit – that organizes the annual CANSEC arms show.

For updates from the Shut Down CANSEC campaign, click here.

We continue to follow this.

Additional reading

–PBI-Canada meets with Filipino human rights defender Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos in Ottawa (April 29, 2026)

–Journalist, researchers killed by Armed Forces of the Philippines on eve of Operation Balikatan exercise with Canadian soldiers (PBI-Canada, April 25, 2026)

–Filipino human rights defenders and allies rally in Ottawa as thousands protest corruption in the Philippines (PBI-Canada, November 30, 2025).

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