Colombia--Christian Persecution in Colombia

Latin America: Colombia Country Report Last Updated: May 2003 Code: Not Rated (Click here for a code description.)
	(Click here for a list of ICC articles on Colombia.) List of Articles Last Updated: June 1, 2003

Religious Atmosphere:
93.1% of this country's people claim to be Catholic but actual mass attendance is much lower. There is also a small Protestant population and an even smaller group of tribal adherents and non-religious individuals. Protestants have traditionally felt disenfranchised by the politically and socially dominant Catholic Church.The "Law of Religious Freedom" passed in 1995 has helped change this sentiment. Tensions however, seem to be more due to actions by the extremist groups mentioned below who exploit churches and their members for high profile exposure.

Extremist Groups:

• Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) - This armed, leftist group is dedicated to establishing a more socialist government. They often engage in narcotics traffic to raise funds for their cause. They often oppose missionary activity as it discourages rural individuals’ participation with their activities and is not in line with their socialist philosophies.
• National Liberation Army (ELN) - Similar to the group above, they also operate in rural or undeveloped areas and are weary of an individual who promotes peace, non-violence, and loyalty to any authority other than themselves.

Government:

• The constitution does provide for complete religious freedom.
• Roman Catholic instruction in state schools is no longer mandatory.
• A law on the freedom of cults enables new religious groups to be recognized as religious entities.
• The previously mentioned 1995 "Law of Religious Freedom" seems to be elevating Protestant evangelicals to a status closer to that of Catholics.

Recent Actions:

• May 6, 2003 - A Christian pastor and three others were murdered inside the Sardis Church in the town of Tierralta, Cordoba department. About 25 unidentified men entered the church and brutally murdered 80-year-old Pastor Miguel Mariano Posada and church treasurer Ana Berenice Girardo Velásquez by slitting their throats. Natividad Blandón and 17-year-old Julio Torres, were shot to death by the armed group, according to El Pais newspaper. (Compass/VOM)
     
• April 19, 2003 - FARC guerrillas opened fire on an Easter procession in Tolima province, killing three people and injuring two others. The attack may have been prompted by the government's promise to protect citizens during Holy Week. A 14-year-old boy was killed in the attack. (BBC)
      
• January 27, 2003 - Unidentified uniformed men stopped a public bus, singled out Rev. Jose Juan Lozada Corteza and shot him in the head. Rev. Lozada was the pastor of the Evangelical Christian Church of San Antonio. At least 72 Protestant pastors have been killed by armed insurgents since 1985. (Compass)
     
• October 17, 2002 - José Luis Cárdenas, a parish priest in Chalán, Sucre state was shot in the head five times. Authorities believe the FARC was responsible. The same day another priest, Gabriel Arias Posada, was muredered in Anserma as he traveld in an attempt to free an official who was kidnapped by the FARC. (Compass)
       
• September 27, 2002 - A priest and three companions were killed by known attackers are they traveled on a road in southern Colombia. (Compass)
     
• September 20, 2002 - A Catholic priest, José Luis Arroyave, was murdered by gunmen while passing out fliers for the church in Medellín (Compass).
     
• August 3, 2002 - Rev. Adelmo Cabrera Polanco and his son, Luis Carlos, were murdered by assassins from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC). Rev. Polanco was the pastor of Christian Missionary Alliance Church of Puerto Rico for 18 years. He had recently resigned from a government position which was said to be the motive for his murder. (Compass Direct)
  
• Ongoing - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) have killed about 3,500 people per year in the country's 38 year old civil war. Violence has increased since February now that peace talks between the government and FARC have ended.
  
• July 2002 - In Cali, Columbia, Father Hilario Arango was shot and killed outside a church where he had been performed evening mass. (IRPP)
  
• Ongoing – It is estimated that in the past three years 300 Christian churches have been forced to close and 80 pastors and priests have been killed. Christianity is seen as a threat to armed guerrilla groups because those who embrace Christianity condemn the violence used by such groups and refuse to be involved with them.
  
• May 2, 2002 - A church in Bojayá, Chocó was bombed by guerrillas, resulting in the death of 117 people. (Compass)
     
• April 28, 2002 - Juan Carlos Villegas, Associate Pastor of the Family Christian Church in Medellin, was kidnapped and held for 12 days by ELN guerrillas who wanted to extort ransom money from his church. He was eventually miraculously released in exchange for a Bible. (Compass)
     
• April 7-8, 2002 - Car bombs in Villavicencio and Puerto Asis killed over a dozen people, including several members of Assembly of God churches in the two towns. The culprit and motive are unknown. (Compass)
     
• April 6, 2002 - Catholic priest, Juan Ramon Núñez was shot to death as he celebrated Mass in his church at La Argentina. Two other Catholic priests were also abducted on the same day. (Compass)
     
• March 16, 2002 - A Catholic Archbishop, Isaias Duarte Cancino, was murdered outside of a church in Cali after conducting a wedding ceremony. Duarte's friends suspect members of a guerrilla groups carried out the killing, as the Archbishop often condemned both the FARC and the ELN. (ANS)
     
• February 28, 2002 - Bernardo Urrego Osorio was murdered near his home by FARC guerrillas, possibly in retaliation for his refusal to aid the guerrillas. Mr. Osorio was a member of the San Vicente Christian & Missionary Alliance Church. (Compass)
      
• February 27, 2002 - Pastor Hector Peña of the United Pentecostal Church of San Vicente de Caguán was murdered by unknown assailants. The reason for his murder is unclear. (Compass)
      
• February 2002 - US missionaries were warned by the US Embassy to take special precautions against guerrilla attacks by staying away from rural areas outside of Colombia's major cities. It was also reported that FARC guerrillas issued a statement that Christian evangelicals would be considered military targets. This action may have stemmed from a political rally in which a particular evangelical organization supported presidential candidate Alvaro Uribe Vélez, a staunch opponent of the guerrilla groups.
      
• October, 2001 – Three American missions, kidnapped in 1993 in Panama, were confirmed by New Tribes Mission to have been murdered by their abductors when Colombian troops closed in.   (NTM)  The case of Dave Mankins, Rich Tenenoff and Mark Rich is being pursued by both the Colombian government and the FBI.
         
• August 25, 2001 – A Christian pastor, Guillermo Leon Hernandez Gutierrez, was murdered by two men on a motorcycle, in the city of Cali.  A former narco-trafficker, he became a Christian in a United States prison, and returned to Columbia to found the Genesis Christian Church in the neighborhood of Alfonso López, in Cali.  (Compass)
       
• August 12, 2001 – Pastor Enrique Gomez was released unharmed on August 11 from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia after being held hostage for six months (See February 14, 2001).  Although he lost 44 pounds and was moved to 10 different locations he told his church on August 12, “I’m very happy because God kept my health and helped me to get here.”
         
• June 17, 2001 – Joni Palacio, an active youth worker with the Inter-American Church was shot to death.
  
• June 8, 2001 – The 22-year-old son of Pastor Ederino Renteria was found murdered after having been kidnapped. The rapid growth of his church may have been a reason for the murder.
  
• February 14, 2001 – A prominent Colombian pastor who operates several evangelical Christian radio stations throughout the country was kidnapped in Apulo. Jorge Enrique Gómez was forcibly abducted by unidentified men who are probably related to the FARC.
  
• December 1, 2000 – Three church members were murdered by ultra-rightists in a town near Medellin. Apparently the three were formerly sympathizers of an insurgent group. The church’s pastor and his family have been forced into hiding.
  
• September 4, 2000 – Catholic priest, Gerardo Sanin, was released by FARC rebels. He had been kidnapped on August 30 in a town just north of Bogotá.
  
• September 2, 2000 – Pastor Evelio García of the Evangelical Missionary Union was released after agreeing to pay FARC rebels $2500 in ransom money. Pastor García and three other people were kidnapped on August 27 in La Pintada, northwest Colombia. All have been released since paying a ransom.
  
• May 24, 2000 – An Australian missionary and his coworkers were released by Colombian guerrillas. Edward Walter Smith and three Colombian coworkers were kidnapped during a church service in northern Colombia and held by the guerrillas for two weeks. Although a ransom was demanded, none was actually paid.
  

Prisoners:

• There is no evidence that prisoners are being held by the government for their Christian beliefs at this time.

Suggested Actions You Might Take:

• Pray for the Christians of Colombia that they may be protected from harm and that the Christian message may be heard and received by all.
• Write a respectful letter to one or more of the government officials listed below. Congratulate them on recent motions to elevate Protestant evangelical Christianity to a level equal to that of Catholicism. Express your continuing concern for the safety and well being of the Protestant Christian community as well as the Catholic community in Colombia. Encourage them to continue to take steps to ensure the protection and freedom of all Colombians to practice their faith as laid out in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights documents.
• Contact the elected national officials (Senators, Congressman etc.) for your area as well as the U.S. State Department and express concern for the well being of the Christians in Colombia asking them to make an inquiry into their status.
• Please keep us informed of any replies or results you may receive! Contact ICC by email at icc@persecution.org.

*We make every attempt to keep up with and reflect changes in the national government of Colombia and the current human rights situation. We appreciate your feedback if you find any discrepancies in this information. You can contact us by e-mail at: icc@persecution.org. Thanks.

POSTED:  May 16, 2003

ICC Articles on Colombia:

• 11/4/03 (Compass) -- Two Roman Catholic priests were slain in apparently unrelated incidents on November 4 in Colombia. Rev. Saulo Carreño, parish priest of Christ the King Church in the town of Saravena, in eastern Colombia’s violent Arauca department (state), was shot after leaving a hospital where he had been ministering to sick parishioners. According to Cali’s El Pais newspaper, a woman identified as Maritza Linares was also killed in the assault. The same day, Rev. Henry Humberto López was found stabbed to death in his home in the city of Villavicencio.

• 11/24/03 (Compass) -- The Association of Christian Lawyers in Colombia is defending a pastor and several lay church leaders arrested by security forces near the city of Sincelejo and jailed on terrorism charges. Deivis Manuel Carrascal, 23, pastor of the AIEC evangelical church in Colosó, was arrested at his home at 5 a.m. on August 20. Manuel Monterroza, a Christian school teacher from nearby Chalán, and at least seven other active members of an evangelical church in that village were among the 156 persons arrested in the pre-dawn military sweep. An ex-guerrilla, who wore a hood over his head to conceal his identity, reportedly identified the suspects as former comrades in arms. The defendants stand charged with rebellion against the state and acts of terrorism, crimes punishable by 20 to 30 years in prison.

   
• June 1, 2003 - Prayer - Bangladesh, Colombia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan