Dear Friends,

This month we bring you news from Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Chile and Argentina.

Highlights are:

• Venezuela: Urgent Action issued calling on authorities to immediately release all arbitrarily detained individuals.
• Colombia: Indigenous groups face physical and cultural extinction as illegal groups battle for control of illicit mining and drug-trafficking routes.
• Brazil: The jury trial of two military policemen accused of the death of 13-year-old Thiago Menezes Flausino, due last week, has been adjourned; Thiago’s family continue to seek justice almost three years after his killing.
• Chile: Police officer accused of blinding protester Gustavo Gatica during Chile’s 2019 protests acquitted; President-elect José Antonio Kast names abortion opponent as gender equality minister; Kast also visits El Salvador’s mega-prison to explore collaboration on Chile’s penitentiary system.
• Argentina: Decree issued by President Javier Milei granting intelligence agency SIDE the power to arrest people is condemned by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations; mothers and grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo recognised for their enduring Human Rights struggle.

VENEZUELA

Between 25^th December and 19^th January, the Venezuelan authorities released a number of politically motivated arbitrary detainees, including Roland Carreno and Biagio Pillieri, as well as prisoners of conscience Rocio San Miguel and Carlos Julio Rokas. However, at least 780 individuals remain arbitrarily detained for political reasons, according to NGO Foro Penal. Amnesty International has issued an urgent action calling on the authorities to immediately release all arbitrarily detained individuals and to ensure that, whilst in custody of the state, every detainee sees their life and safety protected, fair trial guaranteed, adequate medical care, and family visits.

COLOMBIA

Violence is surging across Colombia as illegal groups battle for control of the country’s illicit economies, including key drug-trafficking routes and coca-growing regions. The 2016 peace deal with the guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has begun to unravel, allowing splinter factions to move into the vacuum it left behind.

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, located in northern Colombia on the Caribbean Coast, illustrates this vulnerability clearly. The UN has warned that five Indigenous groups living in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta – the Kogui, Wiwa, Kankuamo, Arhuaco and Ette Naka – face “physical and cultural extinction.” Indigenous leaders say assassination attempts have increased, while Colombian research organisation Cinep/Programme for Peace reports that some victims have been tortured, dismembered and displayed in public spaces in a bid to instil collective terror.

Indigenous leaders say they have faced death threats for speaking out against environmental destruction, and at least three have survived recent assassination attempts. Colombia has suffered the highest number of murders of environmental defenders for three years in a row. Colombia’s representative for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says this risk is “an ongoing tragedy that we can and must prevent.” [Read more…]

Best wishes for 2026. This month, we bring you news from Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina.

Highlights are:

• Colombia: Two Urgent Actions have been published; one regarding serious risks to the life, safety, and security of peasant community, the other following serious attacks on members of the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace
• Brazil: Tens of thousands of women have marched in cities across Brazil, denouncing femicide and gender-based violence, after a series of high-profile cases.
• Venezuela: Amnesty International raises human rights concerns following US’s military action in Venezuela
• Chile: Amnesty International called on President-elect Kast and his administration to fulfil their human rights obligations in all their policies and government proposals.
• Ecuador: Authorities in Ecuador have used safeguards intended to prevent money laundering to freeze the bank accounts of Ecuadorian Indigenous and environmental groups.
• Peru: The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned that a recently approved bill in Peru, that eliminates the concept of gender from legislation and public policy frameworks, could significantly undermine the country’s human rights protections.
• Argentina: A federal judge has annulled the “anti-picket” protocol that limited protesters’ actions and restricted the right to peaceful protest.

COLOMBIA

Amnesty released two Urgent Actions relating to Colombia in December. The first regarding serious risks to the life, safety, and security of the peasant communities of El Porvenir and Matarratón; the second relating to serious attacks on members of the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace while engaging in human rights defence activities in Southwest Colombia. Please take action here and here. You can also find the first of these on the AIUK site, where you will find a pro-forma letter and do an email action:    https://www.amnesty.org.uk/urgent-actions/threats-against-community-leaders

BRAZIL

Tens of thousands of women have marched in cities across Brazil, denouncing femicide and gender-based violence, after a series of high-profile cases that shocked the country. Last year, 1,492 women were victims of femicide, the highest number since a law recognising the crime of femicide was introduced in 2015. More women are speaking out against violence targeting them. Read more here. [Read more…]

This month we bring you news from Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela

Highlights are:

• Amnesty International Argentina released a report, “The Offensive Against LGBTI+ Rights in Argentina”, ahead of the November 2025 Pride march in Buenos Aires
• In Brazil, the global mining company BHP Group has been found liable for the deadly 2015 collapse of a Brazilian dam
• In Chile, ahead of the upcoming elections, Amnesty International has been trying to put human rights at the centre of the election debate, arguing that rights are not merely historical legacies tied to dictatorship-era abuses, but part of everyday life
• In Colombia, Colombia’s Military Criminal Justice system is playing a role in the persistent impunity for human rights violations and crimes under international law by members of the National Police and the Armed Forces
• For Ecuador, we are promoting action in support of the Warriors for the Amazon as part of this year’s Write for Rights Campaign.
• Venezuelan human rights group Provea has stated that recent months saw the highest level of repression since the start of tensions between the US and Venezuela.

ARGENTINA

Amnesty International Argentina released a report, “The Offensive Against LGBTI+ Rights in Argentina”, ahead of the November 2025 Pride march in Buenos Aires. The report (Spanish)  warns of “an accelerated rollback of LGBTI+ rights.” It points to a combination of hostile official rhetoric, the dismantling of public policies, and an increase in violence and impunity. Amnesty described how “hateful narratives” have translated into concrete measures that “dismantle state structures of protection and inclusion,” creating a climate of “increased hostility.”

Ex-military officers who served in Argentina’s dictatorship and their families staged a rally to push for the release of fellow officers imprisoned for human rights abuses committed during the junta’s 1976-1983 rule. They gathered in Plaza de Mayo, the historic site of protests by women searching for children who had been abducted, detained and “disappeared” by the junta.  Earlier in November, President Milei announced that the Defence Ministry will be led by a military officer for the first time since the return to democracy.

The United Nations Committee Against Torture concluded a review of Argentina’s periodic report under the Convention Against Torture. They praised some reforms, but raised serious concerns about “excessive use of force by the police against protesters” and reports of torture in detention facilities. They later published their findings, and urged Argentina to stop using police facilities for long-term detention and to reform protocols governing the use of force and less-lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets, tear gas and water-cannons – particularly given reports of “serious injuries caused by indiscriminate use” during demonstrations.

At the review in Geneva, Human Rights Undersecretary Alberto Baños drew criticism after denying the historically recognised figure of 30,000 kidnapped during the last civic-military dictatorship and attacking the country’s Human Rights organisations. Such a claim has never previously been stated by a public official at an international organisation. Baños also disputed the report’s findings and insisted that his government was committed to “complete, unbiased and unobtrusive historical memory.”

Amnesty International have just published Volume 3 of the Staying Resilient While Trying to Save the World series – “A Well-Being Workbook for Youth Activists”. This is co-created with child and youth activists and shaped by lived experiences. One of the contributors, 19 year old Paloma Navarro Candia, reflects on the situation in Argentina, where access to technology is still unequal, especially in rural or low-income areas. Many depend on public Wi-Fi or shared devices to study. The lack of comprehensive sex education leaves many adolescents vulnerable to misinformation about their rights and relationships. [Read more…]

This month, we bring you news from Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina and Chile.
Highlights are:

• Colombia: Amnesty has condemned the attack in Bogota on a Venezuelan human rights defender and called for a full investigation.
• Brazil: Amnesty has called for the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly to be respected during the COP30 climate conference in Belem this month
• Ecuador: Amnesty has expressed its concern over the continued deterioration of the human rights situation in Ecuador, including excessive use of force against protesters.
• Peru: Amnesty has condemned the disproportionate use of force by the police during recent demonstrations in Lima, when one person died from a gunshot wound and dozens were injured. 
• Venezuela: Amnesty has welcomed the award of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan democracy activist and opposition leader, María Corina Machado
• Argentina: The Supreme Court of Justice has decided to intervene in a dispute between indigenous communities, environmental groups and government authorities over the exploitation of lithium and borate
• Chile: Protection will be provided to the family of disappeared Indigenous environmental human rights defender Julia Chuñil, who have repeatedly expressed concerns for their safety. 

COLOMBIA

Venezuelan human-rights defender Yendri Velásquez Rodríguez and political consultant Luis Alejandro Peche Arteaga were wounded in a targeted shooting in Bogotá on October 13, underscoring the dangers faced by exiled activists in Colombia. Amnesty International condemned the attack, urging authorities to carry out a full investigation and ensure effective access to international protection for Venezuelan nationals. Of the eight million Venezuelans who have fled their country, nearly three million are in Colombia, many living in extremely vulnerable conditions. Amnesty calls for decisive action by the Colombian government to put an end to this unacceptable situation of risk and to guarantee protection for all human rights defenders, including Venezuelans.

Illegal gold mining in Colombia’s Atrato River basin – one of the country’s largest waterways – is causing severe mercury contamination that threatens the health, water, and livelihoods of Afro-descendant and Indigenous communities. Mercury is commonly used in small-scale gold mining to separate gold from sediment, but when released into rivers it poisons fish and accumulates in human tissue. Although Colombia banned mercury use in mining in 2018, enforcement remains weak, especially in conflict zones controlled by armed groups and criminal networks. The United Nations has described the crisis as a human rights emergency and criticised the government for failing to fully implement a 2016 court ruling that recognised the river’s rights. [Read more…]