Government of Canada,
Honourable Trade Comissioners,
Caucus, Liberal Party of Canada,
Caucus, Conservative Party of Canada,

On Thursday, October 14, three siblings, Jenny, age 14, Jimmy, age 9, and Jeferson, age 6, were found tortured, strangled and beheaded in a ditch near their home in Caño Temblador, near Tame, Arauca, Colombia.

According to information provided by a high level human rights delegation that visited the region after the massacre, military men raped the girl and killed the boys who witnessed their sister’s rape.

On October 19, more than 6,000 people from the region attended their funeral on October 19 in a demonstration of solidarity with the family, condemning the crime and demanding a prompt and clear investigation. The presumed responsibility for this atrocity falls on members of the Colombian Army.

The armed forces of Colombia has been involved in atrocities that you have been aware of for many years, including the assassination of innocent civilians under the responsibility of Juan Manuel Santos, former Minister of Defense and current President of Colombia.

The Government of Canada has made Colombia a partner of Canada through the Free Trade Agreement, which was negotiated on behalf of mining, oil and other corporate interests, and justified by an argument that these kinds of crimes would decrease if such an agreement was signed.

However, as evidence has proven and qualified witnesses have testified, the beneficiaries of these atrocities are the corporate interests that you represent, not the people of Colombia. We remind you of your complicity with the Colombian regime and demand that you put an end to the criminal complicity, which any decent Canadian citizen would reject.

Sincerely,

La Chiva Collective
Pueblos en Camino