On Friday, September 19, 2025, the Trump Administration released new rules that will enable the Pentagon to label journalists as security threats and revoke press passes for those who obtain or publish information that the agency says is unfit for public release.
Today, September 17, 2025, Global Witness released their annual report about threats and attacks against environmental defenders around the world. Shocking figures show that 80% of land defenders killed or disappeared last year were in Latin America (120), with Colombia accounting for roughly 1/3 of the global total (48 of 146).
As a PBI field volunteer, you will live and work as part of a culturally diverse international team which uses consensus decision-making to function horizontally. PBI provides a specialized training process, based on more than 40 years of experience championing the strategy of international accompaniment. You will have the opportunity to learn about non-violent resistance movements and accompany defenders dedicating their lives to conflict transformation and peace-building.
Peace Brigades International is deeply concerned by the excessive and unlawful use of force by security forces during recent demonstrations in Nepal. At least 27 people – including youth – have lost their lives, and hundreds have been injured. The use of lethal force not only violates international law but also undermines the fundamental rights to peaceful assembly and protest.
On March 22, World Water Day, PBI Guatemala traveled to the southern coast and visited several communities that are part of the Retalhuleu Community Council (CCR), an organization PBI has accompanied for five years. The goal of this trip was to learn firsthand about the problems these communities face with regard to water. The communities are organized and are fighting for their right to water.
2024 brought challenging turning points at both the national and international levels. It was a year of significant operational and organizational changes that strengthened and expanded the PBI Mexico team’s work in the field.
Each month, the PBI team in Guatemala releases a report on the current political situation in the country. Read below for the August 2025 updates.
Eight years after the events, a verdict in the Hogar “Seguro” case
That day, anguish, pain, sadness, and worry overwhelmed these families when the news arrived that the body of Carlos Cárdenas Zepeda, who had been missing, had been returned lifeless. Less than a week earlier, this was the second political prisoner to die, the first being Mauricio Alonso Petrie. Both had fallen victim to recent waves of arrests and were in a state of forced disappearance. Mauricio Alonso had been arrested along with his wife and son on 18 July 2025, while Carlos Cárdenas was detained in mid-August.
Several national and international organizations express our deep concern over the deteriorating conditions for the defense of human rights in Chiapas. This statement follows the break-in at the home of Dora Roblero, Director of the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center (CDH Frayba), as well as the ongoing surveillance, intimidation, and harassment against this organization.
Peace Brigades International extends our deepest condolences on the passing of Colombian human rights defender Yanette Bautista. Yanette was a dedicated human rights defender and the founder of the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation (FNEB), which she founded in memory of her sister, Nydia Erika Bautista, who was forcibly disappeared in 1987.
On September 1, 2025, the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation posted on social media:
“With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our director and Woman Seeker, Yanette Bautista.