Luis Eduardo Guerra at SOA.
Photo by Linda Panetta.On February 21, 2005, eight members of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó were murdered by individuals alleged to be members of the Colombian Army. The group, which included two of the community's leaders, Peace Community co-founder Luis Eduardo Guerra and Alfonso Bolivar, and three children between the ages of 1 and 10, were brutally hacked to death. The brigade accused of killing these innocent civilians was led by a graduate of the U.S. School of the Americas, otherwise known as the Western Hempisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.

Their murders resonate today in a period of great uncertainty regarding U.S. policy towards Latin America. In a period where U.S. media coverage of the region is dominated by Fidel Castro's resignation as president of Cuba and Hugo Chavez's diatribes against the Bush administration, the anti-Communist paradigm still reigns. The only headline news from Colombia this month has been the mass demonstrations against the FARC leftist rebels, reinforcing that perspective.

Today, members of the Peace Community and their international allies will bravely return to the site of the horrific killing, hiking up into the rural hills to remember Guerra and his compatriots. Sara Koopman, a former member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation's peace team that accompanies the community, traveled from the U.S. Pacific Northwest back to Colombia this week to attend the anniversary commemoration. Koopman shared:

This is territory that is seriously disputed between the guerillas and the military, and their buddies the paramilitaries. There will be a big group of folks from the community and a significant number of international accompaniers on this hike, which helps with safety, but there are no guarantees. Please send us all lots of safety wishes.

We keep the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and all those seeking a nonviolent end to the war in Colombia in our thoughts on this tragic day.