By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia — Hundreds of farmers and community members gathered to protest forced eradication of their coca crops when the peaceful demonstration turned into a massacre. As many as fifteen civilians were killed and 50 more were injured at the hands of Colombia’s own security forces.

Local reports say anti-narcotics police opened fire into the crowd of protestors on October 5. Between 300 and 1,000 unarmed farmers had gathered in a field of coca requesting to speak with the security forces and stop police from destroying their crop. President Santos has ordered further investigation into the event that occurred in Nariño, the rural area known as a key zone for growing coca.

As the largest producer of coca, a base element of cocaine, Colombia has thousands of farmers who rely on the crop.  The country’s new peace plan provides an opportunity for crop substitution. Over a thousand farmers signed an agreement with the government to participate in this program that will substitute their coca crop for legal ones. In exchange for ripping up their coca, the farmers will receive government investment in their community.

However, most coca farmers around Nariño are not yet included in this program and need their crop to feed their families. Although they intend to participate, anti-narcotics authorities will not wait and are forcing eradication of their crop. This premature eradication destroys their means of livelihood.

Several conflicting reports have been brought blaming different groups for the violence, but human rights organizations and locals of the area assure that it was the police who opened fire on the protesting farmers. They resorted to violence after a peaceful two-week protest in which the farmers refused to participate in coca eradication efforts. Local media reported on several protests in this highly coca dependent area, where about 1,000 locals demanded to be included in the national crop substitution program.

On the other hand, the Colombian government has indirectly blamed guerrilla rebels for inciting the incident. Hundreds of FARC rebels have refused to follow the group’s peace agreement and have formed their own organized crime factions dedicated to drug trafficking. Colombia’s Defense Ministry claims that the rebels threw five-cylinder bombs at members of security forces and the crowd of protestors.

There has been no evidence of this version of events and most witnesses deny it. They report escalating tension between the police and the protestors that resulted in “excessive and irrational action” by the police that was “a clear violation of human rights.”

For more information, please see:

Colombia Reports – Southwest Colombia furious at security forces after ’15 killed’ in massacre – 6 October 2017

Reuters – At Least Six Die During Colombia Protest Over Coca Crop Removal – 6 October 2017

Colombia Reports – Military massacre in southwest Colombia?  At least 8 killed, 18 injured in coca protest – 6 October 2017

Fox News – 4 killed in clashes with Colombia coca growers, eradicators – 6 October 2017

Telesur – Colombians Mobilize Against Police Killing of 8 Campesinos – 5 October 2017

By: Fernando Oliveira
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – On October 5^th, 2017, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the Brazilian Olympic Committee president, and his right-hand man, Leonardo Gryner, the general director of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, were arrested by Brazil’s federal police. Both were allegedly involved in a voting-buying scandal that supposedly allowed Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Olympic Summer Games.

According to Brazilian federal prosecutors, Nuzman and Gryner controlled a complex criminal organization which, in 2009, “bought” Lamine Diack’s vote to bring the Olympics to Rio de Janeiro. Indeed, the investigation has found several emails showing that Lamine Diack, a former IOC member from Senegal, received at least $2 million for promising to vote for Rio de Janeiro’s candidacy during the poll held in Copenhagen in October 2009.

Nuzman, who is now 75 years old, was a Brazilian volleyball player who represented the national team from 1962 to 1968. Later on, he became head of the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation, from 1975 until 1995.  Since 1995, he has been BOC’s president. According to investigators, in the last 10 years, his assets have grown more than 450%.

Additionally, investigators discovered that Nuzman concealed sixteen 1kg gold bars in a Swiss bank, which led federal prosecutor Fabiana Schneider to declare:

“While Olympic medalists chased their dreams of gold medals, leaders of the Brazilian Olympic Committee stashed their gold in Switzerland.”

The ongoing investigation, called “Unfair Play,” brought evidence that Nuzman and Gryner are involved in corruption, money laundering, and conspiracy.

Nuzman’s lawyer, Nelio Machado claimed that Nuzman’s arrest is wholly unnecessary, and constitutes a vehement flaw, mostly because it is clear that the election of Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Games strictly followed the rules.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Brazil police arrest Olympic committee chief in vote-buying scandal – 05 October 2017

New York Times – Brazil’s Olympic Committee President Arrested for Corruption – 05 October 2017

ABC News – President of Brazilian Olympic Committee arrested – 05 October 2017

Folha de São Paulo – Brazilian Police Arrest Olympics Chief Carlos Nuzman in Alleged Vote-Buying Scheme – 05 October 2017

By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia’s new transitional justice system will bring justice to the country after 52 years of armed conflict with the revolutionary armed forces, FARC.  It will establish three courts, a truth commission, and special units to search for ties between state officials and illegal armed groups.

The purpose of this system is to bring what is called “restorative justice.” This method “seeks to empower victims of the conflict by facilitating testimonies and reparations from perpetrators, rather than doling out traditional punishments such as jail time.” It is designed to provide alternative and usually shorter sentences for war criminals by allowing them to turn themselves in, plead guilty, explain in detail their crimes, and work to make reparations to their victims. The goal is to get a full account of the atrocities from the five-decade-long armed conflict and provide closure to victims.

The crux of this initiative is the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, also known as the JEP. This will establish courts whose sole purpose is to investigate and try those who committed human rights violations during the conflict. It will be up to the judges in this tribunal to decide what cases they will and will not hear.

The draw for guilty parties to come forward is the alternative and lenient sentencing of the court. A person who admits a serious crime can receive a sentence of up to eight years in prison. This is far less than what would normally be imposed in a criminal court. With full cooperation, alternative sanctions can be granted as well. These sanctions may include confinement to a community with mandated community service or reparations to the victim in whatever way is asked.

The system aims to ensure that women and minorities are fully represented as magistrates, commissioners, and victims in the tribunal. This is crucial because of the disproportionate effect the conflict had on women. The tremendous amounts of sexual violence used as a weapon affected 800,000 sexual assault victims between 2010 and 2015.

JEP plans to prosecute only those who were directly involved in the political conflict. FARC provided the government with information listing its active members to serve as a basis. Members already arrested by the government prior to December 2016 will be eligible for the court as well.

One of the most prominent atrocities JEP will address is known as the “false positives” scandal. During the war, the defense minister began a policy of “cash-for-kills.” It awarded $1,500 to Colombian Army personnel who could prove they had made a “positive combat kill.” This policy led to the slaughter of some of Colombia’s most vulnerable citizens such as the mentally ill. They would be killed, photographed, and falsely presented as enemy combatants for the reward. One study determined that “the false positives scandal led to more than 5,763 extra-judicial executions between 2000 and 2010.”

Elections for JEP’s members occurred on September 26 and signify a positive step forward for this new justice system. The Selection Committee, made up of jurists and professionals from the United Nations and other entities, chose these members.

There is no doubt that this will be an uphill battle. There will be considerable budgetary and administrative problems to overcome, but this might be the only way for Colombia to move on from its violent past.

For further information, please see:

Colombiano – Today the names of the magistrates of the JEP are known – 26 September 2017

Colombia Reports – Everything you need to know about Colombia’s transitional justice system –  25 September 2017

La Republica – More than 100 women would enter the Special Jurisdiction for Peace – 25 September 2017

Semana – The JEP begins uphill – 23 September 2017 

The Conversation – Colombia struggles to deliver justice in army ‘cash-for-kills’ scandal – 18 September 2017

By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile — Four activists for an indigenous group in Chile, the Mapuche, have ended their hunger strike of 118 days. The men starved themselves in protest of their imprisonment and the terrorism charges brought against them.

After a year and four months of imprisonment with no trial, the strike has come to an end. The Chilean government announced its decision to drop the controversial terrorism charges against these Mapuche prisoners. Alfredo Tralcal, a leader of the indigenous group, and brothers Benito and Pablo Trangol ended their strike as a result. The fourth prisoner, Ariel Trangol agreed to resume a normal diet again the day after his brothers, totaling 118 days on strike.

These prisoners are accused of burning down an evangelical church last year. The church was in a southern region that the Mapuche claim as their ancestral territory.  The court brought them up on terrorism charges through a law that dates back to General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship from 1973-1990. This law is known to be abusive and a violation of human rights. It authorizes officials to keep suspects in isolation without charges for up to two years, as well as the use of secret witnesses in trial.

In protest of this outdated and highly controversial law, the men endured a hunger strike for over 100 days. According to a medical expert, on September 1^st the prisoners had lost 15-22kg and were presenting serious symptoms such as a deterioration of brain function. At one point, one of the four progressed to stop drinking liquids. Reports say that two of the men had to be taken to a hospital because of their weakening condition.

As their relatives watched them deteriorate, they begged the government to allow a common trial and drop the terrorism charges. The government remained steadfast and refused to let them out on house arrest, even though they have not been able to uncover any incriminating evidence since the arrest one year and four months ago.

The government’s refusal led to protests all over Chile. They called for justice for the indigenous Mapuche inmates. In Santiago, the police clashed violently with demonstrators who marched through the streets chanting for “Mapuche dignity.” The police used water cannons to break up the protest.

The Mapuche is Chile’s largest native ethnic group. They have been fighting with the government for two centuries over the land they lost in the 19^th century. After battling conquest for 300 years, the Chilean military expanded and overtook their land. They encouraged European immigrants to colonize the area and the Mapuche have been struggling ever since. Today, the Mapuche are the poorest group in the country and suffer from illness, malnutrition, and discrimination.

Mapuche claims on land have resulted in “decades of struggle, leading to violence and death against leaders, as well as women, children, and the elderly by the Chilean state.”

For further information, please see:

Telesur – After 118 Days Mapuche Prisoner Ends Hunger Strike – 2 October 2017

Greenleft – Chile: Support for Mapuche political prisoners grows – 29 September 2017

Dailymail – Chile denies house arrest for jailed Mapuche hunger strikers – 29 September 2017

RT – Police clash with Mapuche protestors in Chilean capital – 26 September 2017

Lavanguardia – Mapuche leader arrested in Chile and five villagers killed by truck burning – 24 September 2017

By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – The people of Venezuela are starving as the economic and political situation in their country worsens. Thousands flee every day because there is not enough food to survive in their homes. This country that was once an economic hub in South America can no longer sustain its population.

With little food available in Venezuela, people look across the border for help. An estimated 25,000 people cross the Simon Bolivar International bridge into Colombia each day. The town of Cucuta in particular has been swarmed with hungry immigrants. One local church feeds between 600 and 2,000 people a day. Immigrants line up in the open-air courtyard set with plastic tables and chairs. Most say they cannot find work back home and come to this church for their only proper meal of the day.

In order to facilitate this mass migration, the Colombian government has recently introduced “border mobility cards.” These allow Venezuelans to move freely across the border without a passport. This is useful for those who go home to Venezuela after getting fed, but some do not ever want to return. Many have remarked that they will not return until their President is gone. One Venezuelan condemned Maduro saying, “he’s a president who spends money while his people die of hunger.”

For those that stay in Venezuela, aid is severely limited. One soup kitchen at a Catholic Church in Caracas can only serve children. Relying solely on donations, it serves 100 children every day and there are never any left overs. Parents, who would rather beg than let their kids go hungry, often have to be turned away. One parent remarks, “sometimes my wife and I do without food so at least the children can eat twice a day.”

President Maduro released “Plan Rabbit” in an effort to solve his country’s hunger crisis. Basically, he asks that Venezuelans eat their pet rabbits as a source of protein. The agricultural minister, Freddy Bernal, remarked with a smile, “the rabbit isn’t a pet, it’s only two and a half kilos of meat.” This country does not commonly consume rabbit and is more used to them as pets. The suggestion that communities should raise rabbits as sustenance was seen as a desperate and extreme measure taken by the President.

Strict food rationing, surging malnutrition, and starvation all became prevalent when the armed conflict began a few years ago. As the economy spiraled, the population’s nutrition did as well. Most Venezuelans have lost significant weight as a result. “A national poll found that Venezuelans lost 19 pounds on average in 2016 due to food shortages.” Malnutrition continues to afflict thousands of people. There has been an infant mortality rise from 35% to 65%. Nutrition in children has dramatically declined while the number of deaths from malnutrition grows.

While all this happens at home, President Maduro focuses his concern on building his army for the war with the U.S. “that will likely never come.” The leader blames President Trump and the United States for his country’s economic crisis and denounces the sanctions brought against them.

For further information, please see:

Fox News – Escape from Venezuela: Colombia border crossing mobbed as starving citizens flee – 28 September 2017

CNS News – No Need for TP or Toothpaste in Venezuela Because There’s No Food – 28 September 2017

BBC – Venezuelans cross into Colombia as crisis deepens – 28 September 2017

Bloomberg Businessweek – From 172 to 115 Pounds: The Faces of Venezuelan Hunger – 27 September 2017

Aljazeera – Venezuelan families scavenge for food to survive hunger – 25 September 2017

CNN Money – Can rabbit meat save Venezuela from going hungry? – 14 September 2017