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Credhos meets with PBI-Colombia in Bogota to analyze the situation in the Magdalena Medio region, the protection of defenders

By
Brent Patterson
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The Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (Credhos) has posted on social media:

“As part of our advocacy tour, we met with diplomatic representatives from the governments of Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, and the Netherlands, as well as with multilateral bodies, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the OAS Mission to Support the Peace Process (MAPP-OAS). We also held meetings with international accompaniment organizations—such as Peace Brigades International (PBI) and International Action for Peace (IAP)—to analyze the humanitarian situation and the dynamics of the armed conflict in the Magdalena Medio region.

During these dialogues, we addressed the safeguards for the protection of social and environmental leaders and human rights defenders, as well as guarantees regarding the participation and representation of victims in Macro-case 08 of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP). We also highlighted the need to strengthen water protection and the defense of territories against socio-environmental conflicts stemming from mono-extractive models.

In this regard, we advocated for measures to uphold the continuity, autonomy, and sustainability of the JEP as a fundamental mechanism for advancing victims’ rights and peacebuilding.

Finally, we underscored the need to establish and strengthen guarantee and protection measures, and to provide support to the technical working group tasked with monitoring the effective implementation of these measures.

We also called for greater international field presence given the region’s humanitarian situation, urged progress on the implementation of the Escazú Agreement, and requested stronger support for the agenda and demands of artisanal fishers in the Magdalena Medio region.”

Peace Brigades International has accompanied Credhos since 1994. At PBI-Canada we continue to follow the work of Credhos.

Photo: Credhos president Ivan Madero Vergel visits Canada, November 2019.

Photo: PBI-Canada visits with Credhos in Barrancabermeja, June-July 2022.

Photo: Credhos and Fedepesan on a PBI-Canada organized webinar, December 2022.

Photo: PBI-Canada article about Credhos, September 2026.

PBI-Mexico accompanies Modebocu at protest at City Hall in defence of the Pico de Tancitaro volcano

By
Brent Patterson
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The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project has posted its “Activity Bulletin August–September 2026” on Instagram.

That 12-slide report includes this text: “Michoacán: We accompanied the Movement for the Defense of the Forest and Water Basins of Tancítaro (Modebocu) during the protest at City Hall in defense of Pico de Tancítaro.”

That was on September 2, 2026.

Pico de Tancítaro, also known as Volcán Tancítaro, is a volcanic mountain. This article published in July 2026 by the Biodiversity and Conservation journal suggests that avocado production has triggered the loss of extensive forested areas including overlapping areas such as the Pico de Tancítaro.

The Movement for the Defense of the Forest and Water Basins of Tancítaro (Modebocu) is a community-based organization dedicated to socio-environmental monitoring, the accompaniment of citizen projects of public interest and mediation between the local population and agricultural producers.

About three weeks after this accompaniment, PBI-Mexico accompanied Nuria Yamada, a member of Modebocu, when she addressed the 22nd Meeting of the 63rd Session of Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

Her presentation began: “I am here to speak to you on behalf of the Defenders of Human Rights in Mexico, and especially in Michoacán, in the context of mining and agricultural activities. We are the main producers of avocado in the country, and in fact we are trying to defend the forests against mega-projects of extraction.”

In 2020, Canada imported 91,932.59 tons of avocados from Mexico. Overall, Canada imported 106,651 tons of avocados that year, making Mexico the top supplier of avocados to the Canadian market.

And Natural Resources Canada says there are 114 Canadian mining companies in Mexico holding $13.0 billion in assets. Key Canadian mining projects in Michoacán include Defiance Silver Corp. and its subsidiary Minera Santa Remy; Solaris Resources and Teck Cominco with the La Verde Project; and Canadian Silver Hunter Inc.

We continue to follow the situation in Michoacán and the work of the Movement for the Defense of the Forest and Water Basins of Tancítaro (Modebocu).

Additional reading

–PBI-Mexico accompanied defender Nuria Yamada speaks about mining, avocados, the Protection Mechanism and Maria Cruz Paz at the UN in Geneva (PBI-Canada, September 23, 2026)

–Unholy Guacamole: Deforestation, Water Capture, and Violence Behind Mexico’s Avocado Exports to the U.S. and Other Major Markets (Climate Rights International, November 2023).

PBI-Research Unit initial study of the “Cantera Sapadril” open-pit non-metallic mine in Honduras

By
Brent Patterson
-

Peace Brigades International-Canada has amplified PBI-Honduras accompaniments related to thirteen environmental defenders criminalized for their opposition to the “Cantera Sapadril” mine owned by Agrecasa.

Those accompaniments are documented these PBI-Canada articles on September 3, 2026; February 24, 2026; January 14, 2026 and January 9, 2026.

On April 22, 2025, community members in the area of Sapadril, Cortés, Brisas de Tramade, in northern Honduras began the “René Alemán and Pedrina Melgar Dignified Camp” (Campamento Digno René Alemán y Pedrina Melgar) to block the road to the “Cantera Sapadril” open-pit limestone/gravel mine that has been operating since 2005, but whose environmental licenses expired in 2024.

Agregados del Caribe (Agrecasa)

According to Honduras’ 2017-2018 EITI Report, Agrecasa is a subsidiary of the U.S. conglomerate American Aggregates, LLC.

America Magazine has also reported that Agrecasa is a subsidiary of Michigan, USA-based American Aggregates LLC, a U.S. mining conglomerate, according to a 2017 report from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

That Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative report (December 2019) notes: “It is a subsidiary of American Aggregates, LLC, United States of America. It is not publicly traded. …In the non-metallic mining subsector, the currently active concession holders handling significant volumes total 15 companies. Of these, only the Sapadril zone, operated by Agregados del Caribe S.A. de C.V. (AGRECASA), exports aggregates (limestone) to the United States of America and the Caribbean islands.”

The Bloomberg profile of the company says: “American Aggregates of Michigan, Inc. was founded in 1997. The Company’s line of business includes operating sand and gravel pits and dredges.”

Canada Steamship Lines Ltd.

Dating back to January 2014, American Aggregates LLC used the Montreal-based Canada Steamship Lines Ltd. (CSSL) Harmen Oldendorff bulk carrier to transport crushed limestone from Puerto Cortes, Honduras (a 30-minute drive from Brisas de Tramade) to Tampa, Florida.

There is also a record of American Aggregates LLC using the CSL Spirit (a Panamax self-unloading bulk carrier wholly owned and operated by the Montreal-based CSL Group/Canada Steampship Lines) in April 2019.

The CSL website further notes: “CSL Americas, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with additional offices in Vancouver, Canada, is a leading provider of high-performance self-unloading and transhipment operations across North, South, and Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa.”

CSL image.

Accompaniment

We follow the updates from PBI-Honduras about their physical accompaniments of the Dignified Camp in opposition to the mine as well as posts on the Medina Wakes Up Porti Sector (Medina Wakes Up) Facebook page.

The Peace Brigades International-Research Unit (PBI-RU), situated within Peace Brigades International-Canada, studies the correlation between various business practices and violence against human rights defenders.

Additional reading

–13 defenders criminalized, while AGRECASA continues to operate in its territory (CESPAD, November 18, 2025)

–When citizens do not participate consciously, democracy becomes sick (Contra Corriente, August 12, 2025).

–Village Fights Mining Giant in Honduras—with Support from Faith Groups (Radio Progreso, August 1, 2025)

–Demand definitive cancellation of mining concession in Puerto Cortés (Criterio.hn, April 29, 2025)

–Honduran government represses community demanding that mining ceases in Puerto Cortés (ContraCorriente, May 17, 2024).

PBI-Honduras accompanied Asopodehu director Dina Meza denounces loss of protection measures for journalist who was attacked

By
Brent Patterson
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El Heraldo reports: “The director of the Association for Democracy and Human Rights of Honduras (Asoprodehu), Dina Meza, denounced the situation [of the lack of protection for a journalist who was the victim of an attack on his home] and warned about the risk faced by the communicator, whose identity remains confidential.”

A complaint has been filed with the Secretariat of Human Rights (SEDH).

The article explains: “According to the complaint, the journalist was a beneficiary of the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, Social Communicators and Justice Operators since June 2026 due to the risk after the attack. Meza explained that the communicator was relocated to a place in the country as part of the protection measures. However after being under the mechanism for three months, he was expelled from the protection program and the place where he was located.”

Commenting on this situation, Meza told Hondudiario.com: “In this mechanism, for example, we believed that we had overcome the fact that the Liberty and Refoundation Party was super discriminatory and acted politically, but no, we continue in the same way, likewise the Commissioner of Human Rights, totally invisible to the commissioner, is only interested in being reelected in December.”

Meza has also written: “This decision [to strip this journalist of protection measures] constitutes a serious precedent for all beneficiaries of the Mechanism. If institutional failures end up punishing the protected with the loss of their measures, the system would be ceasing to fulfill precisely the purpose for which it was created. The life, integrity, security and dignity of a person cannot be subordinated to administrative deficiencies, contractual interests or arbitrary actions.”

50 journalists killed since 1993

According to the Observatory of Killed Journalists there have been 50 recorded killings of journalists in Honduras since 1993.

El Heraldo has explained: “In Honduras, the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights is a technical unit and specialized body of the Secretariat of Human Rights (SEDH) in charge of receiving requests, assessing risks and executing protection measures for human rights defenders, journalists, social communicators and justice operators.”

Accompaniment

Dina Meza is the director of the Association for Democracy and Human Rights in Honduras (ASOPODEHU). Dina and this organization has been accompanied by Peace Brigades International since May 2014.

Volunteer in Honduras!

To find out how to volunteer with PBI-Honduras, join our upcoming webinar on Wednesday October 14 at 1 pm ET.

This webinar will have simultaneous Spanish-English translation.

Register now here.

Right to protest against weapons companies at Land Forces arms fair limited by legislation, security zone in Boorloo-Perth

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo of protest by Independent and Peaceful Australia Network.

The Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition is taking place in Perth, Western Australia from October 6-8.

Land Forces brings together 964 exhibitor companies, including Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and General Dynamics; with 60 nations and 258 government, industry and academic delegations.

The protest

The Western Australia Anti-War Collective had posted on Instagram: “Land Forces 2026 will ’invade’ Boorloo (Perth) at the PCEC 6-8 October.” They called the protest for Tuesday October 6 at 5 pm local time (5 am in Ottawa).

Green Left adds: “The protest was initiated by the WA Anti-War collective, with the support of Stop AUKUS WA, Friends of Palestine WA and a range of other organisations.”

Disrupt Wars posted on Instagram this short video of the protest. There are also these photos from the protest.

Yesterday Youth Jam posted on social media: “A large crowd of protesters have marched on the Land Forces Expo in Perth to condemn the weapons exhibition. Gathering initially at Yagan Square, demonstrators chanted as they moved down William Street, protesting against weapons manufacturers and Israel, accusing companies of supplying arms used in what they described as a ‘genocide’ in Gaza. A heavy police presence, including mounted officers, closely monitored the march.”

And ABC News now reports: “More than 600 people have marched through Perth city to peacefully protest Australia’s biggest land defence expo, which opened in the state capital today two years after violent clashes marred demonstrations against the same event in Melbourne.”

Additional reading: Thousands protest Elbit Systems, Lockheed Martin and other weapons companies at Land Forces in Melbourne, Australia (PBI-Canada, September 11, 2024).

Heavy police presence

That ABC News article adds: “The demonstration was surrounded by a heavy police presence, with vans and other vehicles on stand-by. …WA police were given 10 days of temporary extra powers for the event, which included the ability to ban “excluded persons” from the expo and its dedicated security zone outside the convention centre. A new facial recognition system currently being trialled by WA police will likely be used to help enforce those bans. …Police Minister Reece Whitby has described the police response as the “biggest police operation” in the state.”

Nine.com.au further reports: “Drone vision is being beamed in live, along with CCTV from every angle of the convention centre, all displayed across the [Maylands police] command centre’s wall-to-wall screens. Live facial recognition technology is also being utilised in the $11.5 million exercise.”

“Security zone”

The Guardian has previously reported that the Land Forces (Special Powers) Bill 2026 was passed last month that “gives police expanded stop-and-search powers and the ability to ban people from entering a security zone that extends from the Elizabeth Quay bus port to the convention centre for 10 days”.

And Sydney Criminal Lawyers notes: “The legislation includes the ‘excluded persons’ law that can prohibit specific activists from the buffer zone, via threat of up to 3 years prison time and/or a $36,000 fine.”

At least twelve activists were banned under this legislation from entering the security zone to protest the arms fair.

Image of exclusion zone from Sophie McNeill.

The right to protest

The Australian Democracy Network comments: “Legal advice from Climate Defenders Australia and the Human Rights Law Centre has concluded that the [Land Forces Event (Special Powers) Bill 2026] goes beyond what is needed to address genuine security concerns and instead disproportionately constrains peaceful protest.”

And The Guardian quotes Australian Greens Member of Parliament Sophie McNeill who says: “[The Western Australia state government] said that these powers were for people who had the propensity to commit violence, people who are a threat to the community. Instead, what we’ve seen is peaceful activists targeted … who didn’t even have any plans to be here in Perth… It’s outrageous.”

In May 2026, the London, United Kingdom-based Business and Human Rights Centre (BHRC) published Navigating a global crossroads: Human rights defenders and business in 2025 that documented 46 attacks against defenders “raising concerns about arms and weapons companies and their complicity in conflict and genocide” and that “protesters at arms fairs targeting companies selling weapons to Israel were detained in the United States, Turkey, Switzerland and France, whilst activists in New Zealand faced violence for protesting the militarisation of aerospace technology and its uses against civilian populations.”

CANSEC 2027

Peace Brigades International-Canada notes that similar concerns could be raised about the CANSEC arms show that is scheduled to take place on June 2-3, 2027, in Ottawa. More information on that can be found at Shut Down CANSEC on Instagram.

The CANSEC arms fair is where “$1B+ in business deals happen every year”. It’s where 100+ delegations, including from the U.S., Israel, and the Philippines, come to buy weapons and technology from 300+ transnational corporations, including Elbit Systems, Lockheed Martin, and BAE Systems.

We continue to follow this.

Photo from protest by Brad Pettitt.

PBI-Guatemala accompanies the Peaceful Resistance of the Poqomam People of Chinautla at CODEDE election

By
Brent Patterson
-

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

“On Sunday [October 4], #PBI accompanied the Peaceful Resistance of the Poqomam People of #Chinautla during the elections to select the principal and alternate departmental representatives to the departmental development councils.”

The Government of Guatemala also notes: “The election of the Maya Poqomam people was held in the Central Park of the Central Canton, in the municipality of Santa Cruz Chinautla, with the active participation of various community organizational structures. The process was coordinated and accompanied by the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office (PDH), the Presidential Commission against Corruption (COPRECON), Peace Brigades International (PBI) and the Ministry of the Interior (MINGOB).”

CRN Noticias explains: “The process to elect the full and alternate representatives of the Maya, Xinka and Garifuna peoples to the Departmental Development Councils (CODEDE) began in Guatemala and will continue until October 10, 2026.”

That article further notes that the functions of Departmental Development Councils “include promoting the participation of the population in the development of the department, formulating policies, plans and projects, knowing the departmental public investment and coordinating actions between different institutions and sectors” and that “representatives of the Maya, Xinka and Garifuna peoples participate in these spaces to convey the needs, proposals and priorities of the communities they represent”.

The Poqomam are an indigenous Maya people. They speak Poqomam, a Mayan language closely related to Poqomchiʼ. Chinautla is situated about 11 kilometres north of Guatemala City in the Department of Guatemala.

Accompaniment

PBI-Guatemala has previously explained on their website: “Since 1989, the Peaceful Resistance of the Poqomán People in Chinautla have been defending their right to be consulted on the activities of various clay extraction companies operating in their territory (Arenera La Primavera, Arenera El Pino, Piedrinera San Luis and San Fernando Arenera). They are also defending their territory against the pollution caused by other businesses operating in the region. Another problem faced by Poqomam communities is the pollution of the Las Vacas river that passes through Chinautla which flows directly out of the landfill in zone 3 of the capital city.”

PBI received a request for accompaniment from the Peaceful Resistance of the Poqomán People in Chinautla, as they have been subject to attacks and criminalization. PBI began accompanying them in December 2018.

PBI-Canada visited Chinautla in May 2023.

UBCIC Grand Chief warns of “boots on the ground” if Pacific Link bitumen pipeline ignores Indigenous rights

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo of Grand Chief Stewart Philip by the Okanagan Nation Alliance.

On October 1, CBC News reported: “A proposed pipeline carrying one million barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the B.C. coast has become the first project designated in the national interest, the federal and Alberta governments have announced.”

The project, the Pacific Link pipeline, formerly known s the West Coast pipeline, was listed on Schedule 1 of the Building Canada Act (that was enacted as part of the Carney government’s Bill C-5).

CTV News added: “The designation is meant to speed up the process of building the pipeline, with both the premier and prime minister setting a September 2027 timeline for construction to get underway.”

The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) opposes this pipeline that could affect more than 130 Indigenous communities.

UBCIC president Grand Chief Stewart Phillip has stated: “We have a duty and an obligation to protect our rights to the fullest extent of the law and we have every intention of doing that. This is not a cake walk, this is not a ‘gimme’, this will be hard-fought in the court rooms, and if necessary, with boots on the ground.”

APTN News further reports: “Prime Minister Mark Carney promised his major projects agenda would not interfere with the Canada’s obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” But Grand Chief Philip reiterates: “We demand that the legal principle of ‘free, prior, informed consent’ enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act be fully engaged in ‘all’ fast-tracked projects sponsored by the Major Projects Office.”

The Canadian Press reports: “Indigenous communities along the route for the newly announced West Coast oil pipeline were given just two months for consultations on whether the pipeline should be designated a project of national interest — and that was still more than the government had planned. At first, the consultations were to take place over one month. …Despite the compressed timeline, the federal document says the Major Projects Office is satisfied that it has provided a meaningful opportunity for consultations, and that further questions can be addressed as they arise.”

We continue to follow this.

Further reading: UBCIC Rejects “National Interest” Designation for Toxic West Coast Oil “Pacific Link” Pipeline (October 1, 2026).

PBI-Honduras visits with CNTC National Board, affirms the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants, the right to land

By
Brent Patterson
-

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

“’Without peasants, there is no food,’ asserts @cntctegucigalpa.

During a visit to the National Board’s offices, PBI had the opportunity to speak with the organization, which calls on the government to ‘adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and make it binding.’ This declaration aims to guarantee the right to land and to recognize, respect, and protect the rights of those who feed the world.”

The CNTC

The National Union of Rural Workers (CNTC) is a small-scale farming and trade union organization that fights for the distribution of land.

In Honduras fewer than 5% of landowners control 60% of the fertile terrain.

Canada abstains on the Rights of Peasants

At this time, we recall that Canada abstained in the vote on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and other people working in rural areas that was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2018.

PBI-Honduras has previously noted that this UN Declaration recognizes key elements such as “the right to land, to natural resources and to food sovereignty, based on the principle of equality between men and women.”

Military equipment used against defenders

On April 9, 2026, the CNTC denounced the eviction of peasant families from the ‘7 de Febrero’ farming cooperative.

At that time, the CNTC statement noted: “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.”

Open-source research by PBI-Canada found a Contra Corriente article reporting that a delegation of senior commanders from the Honduran National Police travelled to Israel in 2022 to finalize the acquisition of 15 Black Mamba armoured vehicles. This was likely the Israel HLS & CYBER 2022 arms fair that took place November 27-29, 2022, at the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The vehicles were built in Mexico by TPS Armoring (Austin, Texas) and Epel Tácticos (Monterrey, Mexico) and exported to Honduras.

Labour affiliation

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+ labor organizations.

Accompaniment

Peace Brigades International has been accompanying the National Union of Rural Workers (CNTC) since May 2018.

Volunteer in Honduras!

To find out how to volunteer with PBI-Honduras, join our upcoming webinar on Wednesday October 14 at 1 pm ET.

This webinar will have simultaneous Spanish-English translation.

Register now here.

PBI-Canada attentive to the risks that could be faced by environmental defenders by de la Espriella reopening fracking in Colombia

By
Brent Patterson
-

Prior to the suspension of the two fracking pilot projects in Colombia in August 2022, Peace Brigades International-Canada monitored and amplified the risks faced by environmental defenders opposed to fracking.

This included webinars with Colombian defenders on April 29, 2021, and May 8, 2022, along with research and multiple articles.

Photo: Oscar Sampayo (CRY-GEAM), Ivan Madero (CREDHOS), Yuvelis Morales (AguaWil), Karen Hamilton (Above Ground), Luis van Isschot (PBI-Canada) and Yuli Velasquez (FEDEPESAN) on the April 2021 webinar.

We highlighted Canadian corporate responsibilities in this given Toronto-based Sintana Energy held a 30 per cent non-operating share in VMM-37, the Platero fracking pilot project block; Calgary-based Canacol Energy Ltd. held a 20 per cent stake in the VMM-2/Plata and VMM-3/Piranga projects; and that Calgary-based Parex Resources had signed an exploration and production agreement with Colombia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) for Block VMM-9 in the Magdalena Medio region.

Both webinars featured Yuvelis Morales Blanco, who led the opposition to fracking in Puerto Wilches. We recall that Morales had to go into exile in France in February 2022 due to the security risks associated to her work against the projects.

Now, MercoPress reports: “Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announced on Friday [September 25] that his government will ‘fully’ reopen hydrocarbon exploration and the signing of new contracts, including hydraulic fracturing, during the swearing-in of businessman Joaquín Gutiérrez as president of Ecopetrol.”

De la Espriella stated: “My government fully reopens the path of exploration and the signing of new contracts, including fracking, to whatever it gives, as I said in the campaign, with absolutely all the criteria of environmental responsibility.”

That article adds: “The announcement does not in itself change the existing framework. Reactivating fracking in Colombia would require reversing the cancellation of the pilot projects ordered under the previous government and navigating regulatory and judicial restrictions whose precise status the executive has not detailed.”

PBI-Canada remains attentive to the risks this situation creates for Colombian land and environmental human rights defenders.

Ecopetrol, Drummond, GeoPark

Portafolio reports: “The race to drill the first fracking well in Colombia currently has Ecopetrol and Drummond as the companies with the most concrete routes, while GeoPark has expressed interest in participating with projects at specific points.”

Drummond Energy

El Colombiano specifies: “In this new scenario, Drummond Energy appears as one of the companies with the most defined path towards eventual fracking drilling in Colombia. The company plans to begin drilling unconventional deposits in the Cesar-Rancheria basin, located between Cesar and La Guajira, in 2027.”

GeoPark

El Colombiano also reports: “GeoPark has expressed interest in evaluating opportunities and transferring to Colombia the experience acquired in Vaca Muerta, Argentina [but] has not announced a specific block, municipality, investment amount, drilling schedule or potential production volume associated with a fracking project.”

Ecopetrol

And Infobae reports: “Ecopetrol has one of the most developed track records, since the state-owned company worked together with ExxonMobil on the Kalé and Platero pilots, in Puerto Wilches, Santander.”

Who owns these companies?

Ecopetrol S.A. is majority state-owned by the Colombian government and functions as a publicly traded mixed-economy corporation. At $3,056.20 million ($3.06 billion), the Toronto-based Scotiabank has the largest stake of any global bank in the company, according to the Banking on Climate Chaos 2026 report.

The Drummond Company is a privately owned American corporation based in Birmingham, Alabama. Drummond does not have public stock or institutional shareholders. The CEO of Drummond Company is Richard Mullen.

GeoPark Limited is an independent Latin American company that has its headquarters in Bogotá, Colombia. The Banking on Climate Choas report documents that JP Morgan Chase has $233.33 million of financing in GeoPark. Finance Colombia has reported: “In March 2026, Colden Investments S.A., an affiliate of Jaime Gilinski, invested approximately $107 million USD for about 20% of the company’s shares, becoming its largest shareholder.” And in September 2026, El Colombiano reported: “The Gilinski Group will take a new step in its expansion in Latin America by becoming the controlling shareholder of GeoPark… The transaction contemplates that the Colombian conglomerate will initially reach a 56.3% stake in GeoPark’s common shares.” As of February 2026, Calgary-based Parex Resources Inc. owned 11.8% of GeoPark Limited.

We continue to follow this.

Photo: On June 28, 2022, PBI-Canada and PBI-Colombia met with social leaders in Puerto Wilches and heard their commitment to stop fracking.

PBI-Canada welcomes United Steelworkers report on strengthening Protection Mechanisms for trade unionists in Mexico

By
Brent Patterson
-

Peace Brigades International-Canada welcomes the United Steelworkers (USW) publication The invisibility of trade unionism in the human rights agenda: Towards a reform of Mexico’s human rights protection mechanisms to include trade unionists and labour activists (October 1, 2026).

The 72-page report is available in both English and Spanish here.

We highlight that the USW report proposes the creation of a National Protocol for the Protection of Trade Unionists and Labour Rights Defenders in Mexico, coordinated by an Inter-institutional Immediate Reaction Table for High-Risk Labour Disputes.

Key excerpts from our reading of the report include:

The threats faced by trade union activists

-Throughout its history, the labour movement in Mexico has faced violence and repression from the state, employers and their agents. (page 3)

-Political violence against trade unionists and labour human rights defenders responds to a persistent structural logic. (page 3)

-Mexico continues to be one of the riskiest countries for human rights defenders. According to the 2025 Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), 3,357 petitions were received in the region that year; 700 originated from Mexico, the second highest figure, only after Colombia. (page 15)

-Violence against trade unionists in Mexico is one of the most persistent expressions of political and structural violence against human rights defenders. (page 18)

Trade union activists are human rights defenders

-It is urgent that the Mexican State explicitly recognize trade unionists as human rights defenders and establish specialized mechanisms for prevention and protection. (page 19)

-This protection must include preventive measures, immediate responses to threats, diligent investigations, coordination between labour, ministerial, and security authorities, as well as effective guarantees for the exercise of union activity. (page 20)

The limitations of existing Protection Mechanism

-At the federal level, the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists has been operating since 2012. Its creation responded to persistent aggressions against both groups and to the demands made for years by national and international organizations. (page 16)

-Although the Mexican State recognizes the defense of human rights as a legitimate activity, in practice, the Federal Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists (MFPPDDHP) usually dismisses the cases of trade unionists on the grounds that they are ‘labour conflicts’ or criminal acts. (page 4)

-Despite the formal recognition of social rights, the Mechanism’s Regulations allow the authority to analyze and qualify the “activity” of the person requesting protection. In fact, when it comes to labour rights defenders and/or trade unionists, this analysis translates into the denial of admission. (page 17)

-We demand that the corresponding authorities expressly include in the Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, that trade unionists and labour human rights defenders are eligible as direct beneficiaries of the Mechanism. (page 52)

-There is no legal impediment to expressly incorporating labour defenders and trade unionists into the Protection Mechanism; what has been lacking is the political will to respond to widely documented violence. Modifying the Mechanism is no longer a recommendation, but an obligation of the Mexican State. (page 57)

A comparison with the Protection Mechanism in Colombia

-The Colombian experience is particularly relevant to this analysis. In the face of decades of anti-union violence and sustained pressure from national and international organizations, the State developed one of the broadest protection systems in Latin America for trade unionists and labour rights defenders. (page 44)

-The main lesson for Mexico is that a protection mechanism should not be limited to reacting when the threat has already occurred. The Colombian experience shows the need to articulate individual and collective measures, strengthen territorial prevention, ensure coordination between labour, security and law enforcement authorities, and expressly recognize trade unionists and labour rights defenders as human rights defenders. It also shows that protection cannot depend on the size of the union, its capacity to exert pressure or the possibility of resorting to international bodies. (page 50)

-In this sense, Mexico has the opportunity to learn from the advances and limits of the Colombian model. Rather than reproducing it automatically, it is necessary to build an appropriate response to the national context, capable of intervening from the first signs of harassment, addressing the risks linked to trade union organizations and preventing violence from escalating. (page 50)

The call to support this initiative

-The democratic transformation of the world of work in Mexico would not have been possible without the constant accompaniment of international organizations, global unions, cooperation agencies and multilateral mechanisms committed to the defense of labour rights. (page 56)

-We call on trade unions, organizations, defenders, academia and national and international organizations to support this initiative and contribute to the construction of a proposal to reform the Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, adding their cases, proposals and endorsements to the request that will be formally presented to the authorities. (page 57)

Next steps

Peace Brigades International-Canada welcomes this report by our friends at United Steelworkers and looks forward to the opportunity to discuss ways to support and contribute to the construction of this proposal.

 The full 72-page report is available in both English and Spanish here.

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