Last night’s debate had more talk about Latin America than I can remember coming from the candidates in a long time, or ever really. It takes alot to impress me, pero I was extremely impressed when in response to John McCain’s praise of U.S. relations and free trade agreements with Colombia, Obama mentioned the execution of labor activists.

And while Obama talks about Colombia’s history, the fact is that right now there are violent confrontations taking place. From an article distributed via email by Mario Murrilo: …

over 12,000 indigenous activists and representatives of other popular and social sectors of southern Colombia are urgently congregating in the “Territory of Peace and Coexistence” in La Maria Piendamó, in Cauca, confronting a massive presence of state security forces who have been ordered to dislodge them.

The popular mobilization began on Oct. 12, and was called to protest the militarization of their territories, the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, and the failure of the government of President Alvaro Uribe to fulfill various accords with the indigenous communities relating to land, education, and health.

On Monday, as expected, the communities participating in the indigenous protest blocked a portion of the Pan American Highway that connects the cities of Popayán and Santander de Quilichao, in the department of Cauca, in an act of civil disobedience meant to force the government to meet with them to discuss some of their demands.

Instead, what we’ve seen over the last two days are serious confrontations between special-forces police units and the communities assembled, with several indigenous activists severely wounded, one possibly fatally, in the ensuing clashes. These unfolding developments come just days after two other Nasa Indians – Nicolás Valencia Lemus and Celestino Rivera – were assassinated by unidentified gunmen late Saturday night and into Sunday morning, a few hours before the start of the mobilization, bringing the total number of indigenous activists killed in the last three weeks throughout Colombia to 11.

Not surprisingly, the unidentified gunmen have been identified as part of the Aguilas Negras, or Black Eagles, a newly formed paramilitary group. These groups have traditionally been supported by the Colombian government and often do the dirty work while Alvaro Uribe continues to claim clean hands in the violence inside the nation he “leads”.

So this is not history. Not something in the past. Colombian citizens, activists, gente are being killed now.

Via / Talking Points Memo, Personal emails from Mario A. Murillo y Patrick Mac Manus