THREAD: I’ve just returned from Colombia where I was filming with journalist @William_Garra for an upcoming @BTHeadline documentary on the US-backed gov of Ivan Duque’s refusal to implement the 2016 peace accord and the massacres plaguing the countryside (Warning: graphic images)

With total support from Washington, the far-right president Ivan Duque – whose campaign was financed by narcos – has attacked the historic peace accords at every turn while the army and paramilitaries kill ex-FARC fighters who laid down arms as part of the agreement.

246 former FARC guerrillas have been assassinated since the peace accord was signed. Despite the total betrayal by the Duque government, this former FARC fighter-turned-family man/farmer doesn’t want to take up arms again and hopes for real peace.

This is the site of a recent massacre in the rural village of El Mango. Most locals won’t speak on camera for fear of being murdered too, but this man bravely told me how assassins sprayed gunfire into a nightclub and killed 5 people.

Among the victims was Libio Chilito, a social leader of the communal action board in El Mango. He’s just one of a staggering 292 social leaders and human rights defenders assassinated in 2020.

César Rosero is a coca farmer in the Argelia region, a key route to the Pacific Ocean and of the most dangerous in Colombia. He explains that it’s impossible to sell other crops and the farmers are slaves of the narco traffickers fueled by US and European demand for cocaine.

I had the honor to interview Senator @FelicianoValen of the Alternative Indigenous and Social Movement, who narrowly survived a recent attempt on his life. Despite the worsening violence, he remains defiant in his hope for peace.

This farmer’s son was murdered with four others last Sunday while they drank beers in the garage. He told @William_Garra and I how he confronted his son’s killer with only a shovel in hand.

This thread is a sample of the crimes happening under the US-backed narco-president Ivan Duque that are ignored by corporate media. Documentary work is costly, so if you can, please support our journalism at @BTHeadline here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mintpress-is-going-behind-the-headlines