Video clip from a news report. “Death threats against CREDHOS. Leader demand guarantees”

On March 26, PBI-Colombia posted: “Today members of CREDHOS say they again have received grave threats for their work in defense of human rights. Security guarantees and protection for defenders of Magdalena Medio.”

CREDHOS has also posted: “Media conference by CREDHOS for recently received threats to the Corporation for its work in defense of human rights, the environment and peace.”

PBI-Colombia has accompanied the Regional Corporation for the Defense of Human Rights (CREDHOS) since 1994. PBI was present at today’s media conference.

The media statement from CREDHOS notes: “On Wednesday, March 24, 2021, at 11:21 am, a call was received to the landline of the CREDHOS office, in which an unknown subject, identifying himself as members of the FARC-EP, threatened to kill all our members, stating verbatim: ‘Stop making publications and being toads, all CREDHOS is a military target, you have 48 hours to leave Barranca, we are from the FARC-EP.’”

It adds: “Upon being informed of what happened by the CREDHOS official who received the call, his colleague Ivan Antonio Madero Vergel, President of CREDHOS, realized that on his personal cell phone, this same illegal armed group had left a voicemail message threatening him with death … as well as his entire family.”

The statement also calls on the Colombian State to “provide the political guarantees of security and protection so that social leaders and human rights defenders can carry out their work.”

PBI-USA echoes the call made by PBI-Colombia for “security guarantees and protection for defenders of Magdalena Medio.”