Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Committee to Free Simón Trinidad.

Simón Trinidad, a Colombian revolutionary and political prisoner of the U.S. empire, will have his 72nd birthday in solitary confinement in a federal supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. Simón Trinidad, born Ricardo Palmera, is languishing in prison after a bogus extradition to the United States in 2004, convicted on trumped-up charges, and sentenced to 60 years. He has been requested by the Special Peace Jurisdiction Court (JEP) in Colombia to help rebuild his country toward a peace with justice. With the incoming Petro-Marquez administration and strong mass movements, the conditions have changed in favor toward Trinidad’s release and role as a peace negotiator.

On his 72nd birthday, revolutionary and progressive forces are calling for a Twitterstorm, in Spanish a Twitazo, that will tag President Biden in the following Tweet format:

#FreeSimonTrinidad @POTUS @SimonTrinidadLi

Free Simon Trinidad!

U.S. out of Colombia!

#UnitedStates #Colombia #PoliticalPrisoners #RicardoPalmera #SimónTrinidad

Tucson, AZ – Despite massive amounts of corporate media propaganda, police crackdowns and right-wing violence, Colombians elected leftist Gustavo Petro as president in a runoff election on June 19. The new vice president is Francia Marquez Mina, an Afro-Colombian woman. This is the first time Colombia elected a president who is not from either the mainstream liberal or conservative parties.

This election victory is a rejection of the reactionary agenda of Rodolfo Hernandez, who is now making allegations of electoral tampering and fraud. Not only did the people of Colombia defeat this right-wing agenda, they elected a president with goals to advance items from the demands of the social and labor movements. This election comes in the wake of two years of nationwide strikes that were brutally repressed by police and military, with hundreds dead, and thousands injured and arrested.

In his victory speech, President-elect Petro said, “Lets scream ‘Freedom,’ so that massacres no longer come to our territory, so the government does not kill the young people anymore, or an economic policy does not take food away from children, so that democracy can be built and a Republic is possible. Long live freedom!”

President-elect Petro also represents an opportunity to address the issues related to the historic Colombian Peace Accords signed in 2016. Despite the ratified agreement, the Colombian government, under the right-wing former President Ivan Duque, gave the military and paramilitaries a blank check to murder, assault and intimidate social leaders throughout the country. The death toll since January of 2022 is over 80 labor unionists, community organizers and activists murdered.

This huge electoral victory may also improve the chances of freeing Simon Trinidad, a Colombian revolutionary held as a political prisoner of the U.S. in the supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. The Special Jurisdiction Court of Peace has requested the presence of Trinidad in their court to discuss issues related to the Colombian Peace Process. It is abundantly clear that Trinidad needs to be freed from the U.S. and allowed to play a vital role in moving his country towards a peace with justice.

#TucsonAZ #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #PeoplesStruggles #GustavoPetro #Americas

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Committee to Free Simon Trinidad. Simon Trinidad is a Colombian revolutionary illegally captured and extradited to the U.S. on bogus charges that required four separate trials to lock him up in solitary confinement in the Florence, Colorado supermax prison. The Special Court guaranteed in the 2016 Peace Accords is requesting his presence in order to move the country toward a peace with justice.

On January 24, 2022, Simón Trinidad filed a complaint in Federal District Court in Denver, Colorado against U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and the Bureau of Prisons. The complaint (22-cr-00193) asserted that the denial of access to a Colombian attorney violated his right to freedom of speech and freedom of association guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

He further asserted that his access to an attorney was critical, as he has numerous cases in the Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz (JEP), or Special Peace Jurisdiction, a specialized court in Colombia created to resolve issues related to Colombia’s 50-year armed conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC.

In 2017 Simón Trinidad requested access to a Colombian lawyer and his request was denied. Mr. Trinidad made numerous subsequent requests for access to a Colombian lawyer which the Bureau of Prisons ignored.

On June 9, the United States attorney general modified Simón Trinidad’s “Special Administrative Measures” (SAMS) to allow contact with a Colombian attorney and the lawsuit is now resolved. Trinidad’s Colombian attorney will now be traveling to the U.S. and will confer with his client.

This agreement to amend the SAMS reflects the importance of Simón Trinidad to the Colombian peace process.

Colombian political prisoner Simón Trinidad, known in the Bureau of Prisons as Juvenal Ovidio Ricardo Palmera Pineda, was a peace negotiator for the FARC.

He has been held in extreme isolation under Special Administrative Measures imposed by the attorney general of the United States since January of 2005.

Trinidad has been jailed at United States Prison ADMAX (a supermax prison) in Florence, Colorado since 2008. Simón Trinidad’s SAMS order states that he be segregated and isolated from society, including other prisoners, with very few exceptions. He can receive no mail or visitors.

#WashingtonDC #RicardoPalmera #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalPrisoners #SimónTrinidad

Fight Back! is circulating the following statement from the Committee to Free Simon Trinidad. Simon Trinidad is a prisoner of the U.S. empire who has done nothing wrong, only struggled to free his country.

The Committee to Free Simón Trinidad condemns police murders and violent repression of protesters by the Colombian government. In the last ten days, Colombian police and military forces killed at least twenty-six protesters in the streets protesting higher taxes and government cutbacks. Backed by the U.S. government and President Biden, nobody will be prosecuted for these police killings and political repression.

On April 28, 2021, Colombian social movements, students and labor unions began marching in the streets to protest the Duque government’s attempt to impose a regressive value added tax (VAT). VAT targets basic goods and service and penalizes workers, peasants, students and small business owners who are suffering from sky high unemployment due to economic crisis and the COVID pandemic.

Peaceful protests took place in cities all across Colombia, but rather than listen to the people and engage in dialogue, the Colombian government of President Ivan Duque sent paramilitary police and the army against protesters. These forces attacked protesters in Cali, Bogotá, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, and other cities all across the country.

Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist. The U.S. government spends billions on war and repression and operates seven military bases.

The Duque regime withdrew the regressive tax, but the protesters are pushing forward determined with broader demands. One demand is that President Duque comply with the Peace Agreement of 2016 that was negotiated with the FARC. Duque’s government is failing to abide by the peace accords and has undermined the special peace court (JEP), failed to implement agricultural reforms, and failed to re-incorporate a large number of political prisoners. The Colombian government has also failed to protect participants in the peace process. Two hundred and forty-six former FARC combatants have been assassinated by death squads.

The Colombian government has made no effort to reincorporate the Colombian champion of peace and former FARC peace negotiator Simón Trinidad. Trinidad is a political prisoner held by the United States government. Simón Trinidad should be freed as his presence in Colombia would reinvigorate the peace process. We call on all friends of peace and justice to work for Simon Trinidad’s repatriation.

Victory to the Colombian National Strike! FREE SIMON TRINIDAD!

#UnitedStates #FARCEP #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #PeoplesStruggles #SimónTrinidad #PoliticalPrisoners

Chicago, IL – Prominent Argentinian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel and 43 other human rights activists from 18 countries have written to President Donald Trump asking him to free Colombian revolutionary Simon Trinidad.

Perez Esquivel, a writer and painter, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 for his opposition to the Argentinian military dictatorship (1976-83), which tortured him and held him without trial for 14 months.

Simon Trinidad, a Colombian citizen and a peace negotiator for the FARC, has served 17 years at the supermax prison in Florence, Colorado where he is unable to receive visitors or mail. He celebrated his 70th birthday this past July.

The letter asks President Trump to pardon or commute Trinidad’s 60-year sentence, stating that it took U.S. prosecutors four trials and three hung juries to convict him. The letter goes on to say, “Freeing Trinidad and allowing him to return to Colombia, would advance the peace process.”

The letter finishes by saying that releasing Trinidad “would be a real gesture of peace” which “most all the people of Latin America would applaud.”

The National Committee to Free Simon Trinidad has posted the full text of the letter on its website here and here on Facebook.

The committee is asking everyone to telephone the Pardon Attorney’s Office at the Justice Department at 202-616-6070 ext. 4 on Thursday January 14, saying, “Free Simon Trinidad.”

Contact for more info: SimonTrinidadLibre@gmail.com or www.freesimontrinidad.org

#ChicagoIL #Colombia #PeoplesStruggles #RicardoPalmera #SimónTrinidad #PoliticalRepression #Americas

Chicago, IL – El destacado Argentino Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Premio Nobel de la Paz, y otros 43 activistas de los derechos humanos de 18 países, han escrito al Presidente Donald Trump pidiéndole que libere a Simón Trinidad, 7 de enero, 2021.

Pérez Esquivel, escritor y pintor, ganó el Premio Nobel de la Paz en 1980 por su oposición a la dictadura militar Argentina (1976-83) que lo torturó y lo mantuvo detenido sin juicio durante catorce meses.

Simón Trinidad, colombiano y negociador de paz de las FARC, ha sido encarcelado durante 17 años en la prisión Super Max enColorado, donde no puede recibir visitas ni correo. Celebró su 70 cumpleaños el ano pasado

La carta pide a Trump que perdone o conmute la sentencia de 60 años de Trinidad diciendo que se necesitaron cuatro juicios y tres jurados en la horca para condenarlo. La carta continúa diciendo “Liberar a Trinidad y permitirle regresar a Colombia, haría avanzar el proceso de paz” y que liberar a Trinidad “...sería un verdadero gesto de paz...” que “La mayoría de los pueblos de América Latina aplaudirían...”

El Comité Nacional para la Liberación de Simón Trinidad ha publicado el texto completo de la carta aqui y en Facebook.

El Comité está pidiendo a todos que llamen a la Oficina del Abogado del Perdón (202) 616-6070 ext.4 en el jueves 14 de enero y que insten a la liberación de Trinidad.

Contacto: SimonTrinidadLibre@gmail.com o freesimontrinidad.org

#UnitedStates #RicardoPalmera #PeoplesStruggles #SimónTrinidad #PoliticalPrisoners

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following declaration demanding the release of Ricardo Palmera (Simon Trinidad). Freedom Road Socialist Organization is one of the signers.

The Communist Parties and Workers signed by this declaration, we demand from the Government of the United States of America the immediate repatriation and release of political prisoner Ricardo Palmera Pineda, better known as Simon Trinidad in his militancy in the insurgent organization FARC-EP.

Simón Trinidad was captured in January 2004 in Quito, Ecuador, while advancing contacts for future peace talks. It was immediately handed over to the Colombian government who mined him to the US government as a war trophy of “Plan Colombia”.

Simon Trinidad, sentenced to 60 years in prison on the false and manipulated charge of “terrorist conspiracy,” remains held in USP's federal high-security prison Florence ADMAX, better known as Supermax, in strict solitary confinement.

The Communist and Workers' Parties and revolutionary organizations, signatories, declare that:

1. Simon Trinidad is a political and war prisoner. After the signing of the Havana Peace Agreement, between the Colombian Government and the FARC-EP insurgency, he should have been released and repatriated.
2. Due to its interference and intervention in Colombia's internal affairs and its military and intelligence activity in Colombian territory, which uses it as an aircraft carrier in the region, the US Government is the main part of Colombia's social, political and armed conflict.
3. Simon Trinidad, who has just turned 70 years old and more than 15 years imprisoned in solitary confinement, must be released immediately, for his firm commitment to peace.
4. We are committed to supporting, participating and promoting solidary actions with Simon Trinidad until we achieve the just goal of his release from the prison that keeps him truly abducted.

We recognize in Simon Trinidad an entire communist, who despite the harsh conditions to which the American imperialists subject him, stands firm in his convictions. Simon Trinidad is one of thousands of communists and revolutionaries imprisoned around the world, so our commitment and revolutionary ethics is for their liberation.

Freedom for Simon Trinidad!

August 9, 2020

PROMOTED BY COMMUNIST PARTY BRASILEIRO (PCB) COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE PEOPLES OF SPAIN (PCPE) COMMUNIST PARTY OF VENEZUELA (PCV)

Solidnet Parties signing the joint statement

1. Communist Party of Albania
2. Communist Party of Australia
3. Communist Party of Belgium
4. Brazilian Communist Party
5. New Communist Party of Britain
6. Socialist Worker's Party of Croatia
7. Communist Party In Denmark
8. German Communist Party
9. Communist Party of Greece
10. Palestinian People's Party
11. Paraguayan Communist Party
12. Philippine Communist Party (PKP-1930)
13. Communists of Serbia
14. New Communist Party of Yugoslavia
15. Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain
16. Communist Party of Turkey
17. Communist Party of Venezuela

Other Parties signing the joint statement

1. Partido de la Liberación (Caba) (Argentina)
2. Partido Comunista de Gran Bretaña (Marxista-Leninista)
3. Partido Comunista de Chile (Acción Proletaria)
4. Communist Party of the Donetsk People's Republic
5. Iniciativa Comunista (España)
6. Unión Proletaria (España)
7. Partido Comunista Obrero Español
8. Pôle de Renaissance Communiste en France
9. Agora Galiza – Up
10. Freedom Road Socialist Organization (USA)

#UnitedStates #FARCEP #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #PeoplesStruggles #SimónTrinidad #PoliticalPrisoners

In response to the call for birthday greetings for political prisoner Simon Trinidad, The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera received a video message from freed Puerto Rican political prisoner, Oscar Lopez Rivera. Lopez Rivera unjustly spent 35 years in U.S. prison for fighting for the independence of his homeland. Below is the transcription of the video message:

“I want to take this moment to wish a Happy Birthday to comrade Simón Trinidad. He is one of the heroes of our countries. He is one of the heroes who is imprisoned because he wants to fight for the independence and sovereignty of Colombia and for a better, more just world. I know that he is imprisoned in very difficult conditions because I was imprisoned there as well. I know it all too well. But, I know that he will endure all those difficulties in a place like that. I also know that he will not allow and has not allowed the U.S. government to break his spirit.

“I believe this moment is the time to say: this comrade, a revolutionary, a man who has dedicated the majority of his life to fight for a better, more just world – that he must be free, completely free. With his freedom, Colombia can continue fighting for their country and a better world. That is something that all of us must do, and if we want it, we have to stop the interference of the U.S. government in our countries.”

Simón Trinidad is languishing in the Florence, Colorado Supermax prison after a bogus extradition to the United States in 2004, convicted on trumped-up charges, and sentenced to 60 years. The Colombian revolutionary and political prisoner of the U.S. empire will have his 70th birthday in solitary confinement in a federal Supermax prison.

Organizers are asking people to email their birthday greetings for Simón to simontrinidadlibre@gmail.com before his birthday on July 30. On his birthday, the group is calling for a Twitterstorm, in Spanish a Twitazo, that will then post the greetings on their Twitter account @SimonTrinidadLi and ask people to use this Tweet format:

#FreeSimonTrinidad @realDonaldTrump

#UnitedStates #RicardoPalmera #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalPrisoners #PuertoRicanPrisoners #SimónTrinidad #OscarLopezRivera

En repuesta a la llamada por deseos por el cumpleaño del president politico Simón Trinidad, El Comité Nacional a Liberar Ricardo Palmera recibió un mensaje de video del preso politico Puerto Riqueño, Oscar Lopez Rivera. Lopez Rivera injustamente pasó 35 años encarcelado en los EEUU por luchando la independencía de su patria. Abajo está la transcripción de su mensaje.

“Quiero tomar este momento para desear al de feliz cumpleaño compañero, Simón Trinidad. El es uno de los héroes de nuestros países, uno de los héroes que está preso porque quiere luchar por la independencía, la soberanía de Colombia y por un mundo mejor y más justo. Yo sé que [el cárcel] es un sitio difícil dónde está preso porque estuve ahí, lo conozco bien. Pero, yo sé que él se va aguantar todo lo difícil que es ese lugar. Y que no va a permitir, no ha permitido, que el gobierno estadounidense rompe su espiritú.

Creo en este momento de decir que este compañero, un revolucionario, un hombre que ha dedicado la mayor de su vida por un mundo mejor y más justo, él debe estar libre, en completa libertad. [Con él] se puedan seguir luchando por su Colombia y un mundo mejor. Algo que todos y todas debemos que hacer y si queremos parar la ingerencia del gobierno estadounidense en nuestros países.

Simón Trinidad está languidiciendo en Florence, Colorado en una Supermax prisión Federal déspues una extradición falsa en 2004, convicto por cargas falsas, y sentenciado por 60 años. El revolucionario Colombiano y preso politico del Empirio de los EEUU se va a pasar su 70 cumpleaño en confinamiento solitario.

Organizadores piden a las fuerzas progresivas y populares a mandar por email su deseos por su cumpleaño de Simón a simontrinidadlibre@gmail.com antes su recharges de cumple, el 30 de Julio. En está fecha el grupo está llamando por Twitazo en el Twitter con este formato:

#FreeSimonTrinidad @realDonaldTrump

#EstadosUnidos #RicardoPalmera #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalPrisoners #SimónTrinidad #OscarLopezRivera

Colombian revolutionary and political prisoner of the U.S. empire, Simón Trinidad, will have his 70th birthday in solitary confinement in a federal Supermax prison. Simón Trinidad, born Ricardo Palmera, is languishing in the Florence, Colorado Supermax prison after a bogus extradition to the United States in 2004, convicted on trumped-up charges, and sentenced to 60 years.

Organizers with the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera are asking people to email their birthday greetings for Simón to simontrinidadlibre@gmail.com before his birthday on July 30. On his birthday, the group is calling for a Twitterstorm, in Spanish a Twitazo, that will then post the greetings on their Twitter account @SimonTrinidadLi and ask people to use this Tweet format:

#FreeSimonTrinidad @realDonaldTrump

The signing of the 2016 Peace Accords has not made life more peaceful for working-class and poor Colombians. Paramilitaries, many times in coordination with the Colombian government, have killed nearly 800 social leaders from trade unions, environmental groups and indigenous rights organizations. To add to that, they have killed around 200 ex-combatants from the FARC as well. The election of ultra-right President Ivan Duque in 2018 has only led to an intensification of the murders, disappearances and intimidation.

That situation will only get worse with the recent arrival of a U.S. Security Force Assistance Brigade. It must also be noted that the SFAB is in eastern Colombia on the border with Venezuela, to coordinate activities among Colombian military, cartels and paramilitaries for the purposes of terrorizing Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution and movement toward socialism.

As these conditions unravel the Peace Accords, we demand that President Trump free Simón Trinidad and return a respected peace negotiator so that Colombia can chart a course for peace with justice.

Free Simon Trinidad! U.S. out of Colombia!

#UnitedStates #RicardoPalmera #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalPrisoners #SimónTrinidad

The activists targeted 140 E 57th Street – a building that is owned by the Colombian government and houses many offices and businesses that have dealings in Colombian affairs. As activists picketed outside, they chanted and derided Juan Manuel Santos, the president of Colombia.

The event was also used as build up for the campaign to free Simon Trinidad (Ricardo Palmera). On Dec. 5, there will be a panel put on by activists in New York about the Colombian peace accords and the case for Simon Trinidad.

Simon Trinidad is a political leader and negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Professor Palmera is currently serving a 60-year sentence in in the U.S. for crimes he hasn’t committed. In fact, he has consistently defended the sovereignty of his country, the right for Colombia’s independence and the liberation of his people. While the FARC has gone through a peace process with the Colombian government, the imprisonment still stands.

The picketers handed out flyers for the event, and demanded justice for Simon Trinidad. Jessica Schwartz, from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression–NY, who helped organize the event states, “Repression doesn't only happen in other countries. Right here in the U.S., revolutionary Colombian leader Simon Trinidad is being held at a supermax prison in Colorado, and the U.S. refuses to release him, even though it is a demand by the revolutionary forces in Colombia. This is a strategic move by the U.S. to keep their boot on the necks of the Colombian people.”

The rally closed out in high spirits with a solidarity video message to the people of Colombia.

For information on the event, Challenges of the Colombian Peace Process and the Case of Simon Trinidad, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/2049128295309085/

#NewYorkNY #Colombia #FARC #RicardoPalmera #SimónTrinidad #Americas

Call the White House Dec. 14, Free Simon Trinidad!

Wednesday 12/14 8am-5pm EST

Call the White House 202-456- 1111

And say: President Obama, secure the peace in Colombia, Free Simon Trinidad!

Simon Trinidad a leader within the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC). He has been in a US Federal Supermax Prison since 2010 after it took four trials to find some bogus conviction. Trinidad is one of the FARC's most talented leaders and probably has the best understanding of how to form a political party and run elections. Freeing Trinidad and having him tour Colombia, campaigning and speaking to crowds of supporters and the curious would advance the peace process tremendously. By keeping Trinidad in a US prison, the Obama administration holds peace back and encouraged the belligerent right-wingers who fear contested elections.

The Obama administration should free Simon Trinidad as a real gesture of peace from the US towards the people of Colombia. Trinidad is one of the few survivors of the UP (Patriotic Union), the leftist party that ran for office in the 1980s and 1990’s, but suffered almost 5000 assassinations by government death squads. That was why Trinidad gave up his life as a professor and politician and joined the FARC at the age of 37. Now, Trinidad can help the FARC and people’s movements navigate how to make change in a new Colombia.

Support Peace in Colombia!

The Colombian Congress voted overwhelmingly to accept the Peace Agreement. President Santos has told the US that he welcomes the release of Simon Trinidad. Organizations who have supported the approved Peace Agreement: UN, Organization of American States (OAS), USA, and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

De-list the FARC!

Decisions to remove the FARC from terror lists have been made by the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom's Parliament. These are not only important symbolic gestures but actually frees up $600 million in post-conflict aid money from the EU. The US government needs to follow suit and Drop the FARC from the list of terrorist organizations. This will facilitate the release of Simon Trinidad and secure the peace for Colombia.

Wednesday 12/14 8am-5pm EST

Call the White House 202-456- 1111

And say: President Obama: secure the peace in Colombia, Free Simon Trinidad!

#WashingtonDC #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #SimónTrinidad #PoliticalPrisoners

It is important to know that the Colombian peace agreement was carefully negotiated over a four-year period and though momentum may be slowed, a return to war seems unlikely. Another fact is that it is an agreement with standing in international law and cannot simply be reversed or changed.

For their part, the FARC are willing to make it work, so the most powerful liberation movement in Latin America is returning to the table to find solutions to problems. The FARC wants to end 52 years of war, end the terror of right-wing death squads, end the displacement, poverty and misery for farmers and workers, and end the $10 billion U.S. military intervention in their country. The FARC want a country where Chiquita Banana is not funding, arming and directing death squads and where Coca-Cola and Drummond Coal do not conspire and pay for the assassination of union leaders.

During negotiations the FARC questioned the wisdom of a referendum, and desired instead huge assemblies across the country. FARC proposed a process of participatory democracy with debates about what peace with justice should look like. A process where social movements, political parties, churches, unions, universities, schools, business associations and community groups propose and discuss suggestions.

Instead President Santos offered an up or down vote. So the vote no groups simply campaigned against their former battlefield enemy, emphasizing the negative, lying about facts, and claiming topics that are not even in the peace agreement. They also threatened and intimidated people campaigning for a yes vote. That is how they won, just barely.

The FARC know that Colombians are cynical about elections where one faction of politicians loyal to one rich family or another trade places every few years. Colombian turnout for elections is low, as was true for the failed peace referendum, with only 37% voting. Consider too that one third of the politicians in the Colombian Congress are controlled by narco-traffickers and you can understand how the peace process is challenging vested interests.

In terms of the U.S. role in the Colombian peace process, the U.S. government appointed a special envoy and should now take steps to guarantee success. The European Union recently took the FARC off the terrorist list with Secretary of State John Kerry looking on and the U.S. should do the same. It shows good will and confidence in Colombian peace.

However, the most pressing matter is to free Simon Trinidad, also known as Ricardo Palmera. President Obama should free Simon Trinidad from the Florence Supermax prison in Colorado.

Trinidad is one of the FARC's most talented leaders and probably has the best understanding of how to form a political party and run elections. Freeing Trinidad and having him tour Colombia, campaigning and speaking to crowds of supporters and the curious would advance the peace process tremendously. By keeping Trinidad in a U.S. prison, the Obama administration holds peace back and encouraged the belligerent right wingers who fear contested elections.

If the Obama administration freed Simon Trinidad, it would be a real gesture of peace from the U.S. towards the people of Colombia. Trinidad is one of the few survivors of the UP (Patriotic Union), the leftist party that ran for office in the 1980s and 1990s, but suffered almost 5000 assassinations by government death squads. That was why Trinidad gave up his life as a professor and politician and joined the FARC at the age of 37. Now, Trinidad can help the FARC and people’s movements navigate how to make change in a new Colombia.

Tell President Obama to help secure the peace in Colombia. Free Simon Trinidad!

#GrandRapidsMI #AntiwarMovement #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #FARC #SimónTrinidad #Americas

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera (Simon Trinidad).

The National Committee to Free Ricard Palmera (Simon Trinidad) wishes happy birthday to Colombian revolutionary Simon Trinidad!

On July 30, 1950, Ricardo Palmera (Simon Trinidad) was born into a wealthy family and as a student became active in the people’s movements. Then in 1989, at the age of 39, he joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) after seeing dozens of his friends and Patriotic Union political candidates murdered by Colombian government death squads.

Palmera joined the FARC to fight for social justice, to seek democratic social and economic change, to organize the poor to overthrow the rich and become the rulers of society. The FARC opposed the U.S. empire – where U.S. corporations steal the oil, coal, minerals, gems and agricultural products that belong to the Colombian people.

Then in 1999, Clinton and Gore, along with Senator Joe Biden launched ‘Plan Colombia.’ The U.S. spent over $8 billion and directed a war that brings only poverty, misery and death to Colombia. Unable to defeat the FARC on the battlefield, U.S. intelligence captured Ricardo Palmera in Ecuador while he was on a UN peace mission. The U.S. extradited Ricardo Palmera (Simon Trinidad) to Washington D.C. and put him on trial four times.

Palmera is currently serving a 60-year sentence in the federal supermax prison in Florence, Colorado under ‘Special Administrative Measures’ that violate human rights.

President Obama needs to free Ricardo Palmera (Simon Trinidad) to guarantee the Colombian peace process. The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera (Simon Trinidad) wants President Obama to act now to push the Colombian peace forward.

On his 66th birthday, we offer Simon Trinidad warm hugs and wish him a long life in struggle! We salute your sacrifice and look forward to your freedom!

Peace for Colombia! Free Simon Trinidad!

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #FARCEP #Colombia #PoliticalPrisoners #RicardoPalmera #PeoplesStruggles #SimónTrinidad #PoliticalRepression

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following February 12 statement from the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera (Simon Trinidad). We encourage readers to call President Obama today. Love not War! Peace for Colombia! Free Simon Trinidad!

The peace process between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) and the Colombian government that is taking place in Havana, Cuba is moving quickly.

Recently, President Obama thanked Havana for hosting the peace talks and declared that the US supports the “implementation of the Colombian accord on the victims of the conflict, justice, and restitution of the lands” This means that the US supports the points where the FARC-EP and the Colombian government came to an agreement.

FARC-EP representative Marco Leon Calarca called the agreement “nearly irreversible.”

Yet President Obama refuses to act on the FARC-EP’s request to have Simon Trinidad, political prisoner & FARC-EP negotiator, present at the bargaining table. We need to demand his release so that the peace process may move forward.

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day we need to express our passion for peace and love for Simon Trinidad and all progressive Colombians by calling for the immediate release of Simon Trinidad so that he may fulfill his role in the negotiations.

Call President Obama at (202) 456-1111

Say: “I want peace for Colombia and to ask President Obama to free Simon Trinidad for Valentine’s Day! Trinidad belongs at the peace talks, not in solitary confinement at the Florence Colorado Supermax prison. Peace and love for the people of Colombia!” https://www.facebook.com/events/1009925899071968/

#UnitedStates #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #PoliticalPrisoners #SimónTrinidad #Americas

Minneapolis, MN: Around 30 people gathered here, Jan. 28, at May Day Bookstore to hear from Anti-War Committee activists about the Colombian peace negotiations in Havana, Cuba. Afterwards they discussed whether the Colombian civil war is coming to a close and what the significance of an end to the more than 50 year war would mean for the social movements in Colombia.

In October, 2012 the Colombian government and the largest rebel army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP), began negotiations for an end to the war in Oslo, Norway. The negotiations then moved to Havana, Cuba the next month and have continued. Last September, they set out March 23 of this year as the deadline for peace agreement. While a conclusion on that date is not certain, both sides seem confident an agreement could be reached before mid-year.

The event began with Jennie Eisert, a Colombian-American anti-war activist, explaining the key background needed for the audience to understand the current peace process underway, “In the early 1980s, following peace talks with the former President Belisario Betancur, a ceasefire was declared in 1984, this was the first and last time the FARC laid down their weapons, and this gave way to a political party. They acknowledged that agreements signed with the government represented an opening that had not existed before. The FARC joined other leftist groups to form the Patriotic Union (UP), a radical left political party that performed surprisingly well in the elections that followed. However, paramilitary groups and extremist elements within the military and drug cartels began one of the bloodiest extermination campaigns, assassinating thousands of UP leaders and sympathizers.” Eisert noted that the history of this previous peace process makes the social movement in Colombia both excited and nervous for an end to the war.

Meredith Aby-Keirstead spoke about the current peace process and stressed the importance of the case of Simon Trinidad.

One of the main demands from the FARC has been for their lead diplomat Ricardo Palmera, who is also known as Simon Trinidad, to be released from U.S. custody. After four trials in the U.S., he was sentenced to 60 years of prison. Trinidad’s imprisonment in solitary confinement in a Colorado Supermax is seen by many as a barrier to peace.

The Associated Press reported on Jan. 30, “With peace talks expected to wrap up as early as March and President Juan Manuel Santos heading to Washington on Tuesday to cement U.S. support for an accord with the FARC, there is a renewed push to win the 65-year-old's release. Last week, Colombian Sen. Ivan Cepeda, a trusted conduit of both the FARC and Santos, quietly met with Palmera at the United States' highest security prison to discuss how he can contribute to peace, according to officials in Colombia and the U.S. familiar with the meeting. Cepeda was accompanied by Colombian diplomats and the conversation monitored by U.S. law enforcement, said four officials, who insisted on not being named because they weren't authorized to discuss the issue publicly. The officials wouldn't reveal specifics about was said in the meeting, but the visit was unusual.”

Aby-Keirstead motivated the audience to take up this cause, “We, the anti-war movement, need to participate in the upcoming national call in days to demand that Obama release Trinidad. This week President Obama publicly thanked the Cuban government for hosting the peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC. He said the U.S. ‘supports the implementation of the Colombian accord on the victims of the conflict, justice and restitution of the lands.’ We need to hold him to his words. If the U.S. wants talk about peace in Colombia then it cannot keep being a barrier to the negotiations. Please join with us in demanding the release of Ricardo Palmera.”

Robert Trousdale and Jess Sundin, also members of the Anti-War Committee also spoke. Trousdale explained the role of the School of the Americas (SOA) at Fort Benning, Georgia which trains Latin American military in counterinsurgency warfare under the guise of ‘democracy promotion.’ He went to the annual SOA protest in November of 2015 and spoke about his experience. Sundin was in Colombia during the last peace process in 2000 and spoke about her observations in rebel controlled territory.

The Minnesota Anti-War Committee plans to participate in national call-in days to demand the release of Simon Trinidad and other Colombian political prisoners. At the end of the event people wrote letters to President Obama demanding his release and to Simon Trinidad in prison.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #FARCEP #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #Americas #AntiWarCommittee #colombianPeaceProcess

Florence, CO – El lunes 21 de septiembre, en las afueras de la Penitenciaria Federal de máxima seguridad, localizada en el pequeño pueblo de Florence, Colorado, se realizó una manifestación de suma importancia para la paz y la justicia en América Latina. El Comité Nacional para la liberación de Simón Trinidad, en solidaridad con el proceso de paz que se está llevando a cabo entre las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) y el gobierno Colombiano, organizó una movilización para exigir la liberación inmediata de Simón Trinidad, prisionero político encarcelado en dicha prisión.

Alrededor de 35 activistas provenientes de 9 ciudades de alrededor de todo el país resaltaron el mensaje y el propósito del evento con impresionantes pancartas que leían “Libertad para Simón Trinidad” y “Paz para Colombia”. Incorporadas a la campaña estuvieron organizaciones tales como Estudiantes por una Sociedad Democrática (SDS por sus siglas en ingles), El Frente de Lucha de Denver, El Comité Contra la Guerra de Utah, Alianza por la Justicia Global de Tucson entre otras.

Liliana Castrillón, activista Colombiana-Americana dijo “Estoy aquí para apoyar el proceso de paz en Colombia, y a la vez denunciar las practicas de aislamiento y tortura que el sistema carcelario de EE.UU ejerce sobre Simón Trinidad.

Simón Trinidad, cuyo verdadero nombre es Ricardo Palmera, es miembro de las FARC, grupo guerrillero que lleva más de 50 años en una guerra civil luchando por la justicia social del pueblo colombiano. En el 2004, mientras lideraba negociaciones de paz en Ecuador, Simón fue capturado y posteriormente extraditado a los EE.UU. Con el avance de las negociaciones de paz, las FARC exigen la liberación de Simón Trinidad para asistir en la finalización de las negociaciones.

“Estamos aquí para informarle al presidente Obama que Simón Trinidad es un elemento clave para el proceso de paz en Colombia. Simón Trinidad lleva 11 años como prisionero en aislamiento aquí en los EE.UU, su presencia es necesaria en la mesa de diálogo para finalizar las negociaciones de paz” dijo Mark Burton, abogado que representa a Simón Trinidad en los EE.UU.

Con la presencia de la cadena de noticias colombiana RCN, el reportaje y las entrevistas se realizaron en medio de cantos como “Libertad, Libertad, para Simón Trinidad”

Como parte del Comité Nacional para la Liberación de Simón trinidad, Tom Burke dijo “La guerra de EE.UU en Colombia ha sido un fracaso y nosotros debemos apoyar al pueblo de Colombia en su lucha por la paz. Nuestro próximo paso seguramente nos llevará a la casa blanca, para demandar la liberación de Simón Trinidad”.

#FlorenceCO #InJusticeSystem #Colombia #FARC #RicardoPalmera #PoliticalPrisoners #SimónTrinidad #Americas

Trinidad, a well-known revolutionary leader in Colombia, is being held in solitary confinement by the U.S. government. He is a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) a guerilla insurgency that has been fighting the government of Colombia for over 50 years.

U.S intelligence agents kidnapped Trinidad while he was traveling through Ecuador to meet with a UN official. According to Wikileaks, the U.S. government then rushed to arrange criminal charges with the Colombian government so they could extradite him to Washington. There was nothing ordinary about Trinidad’s four trials in Washington D.C. At the start of the second trial, Federal Judge Hogan had to step down, or recuse himself, when he was caught cheating with U.S. prosecutor Cole.

Tom Burke, with the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera, says, “We protested the political trials in D.C. and now we are going to stand outside the ‘Guantanamo of the Rockies’ in Colorado to demand Trinidad be set free. Trinidad is a political prisoner. He is a good man who fights for the Colombian people to benefit from the natural resources and labor of their own country. He wants to stop Wall Street from robbing and stealing what belongs to the people.”

Peace negotiations, begun in 2012 in Havana, Cuba, are making significant progress towards a final peace agreement according to both the Colombian government and the FARC.

Trinidad, a former university professor, was a FARC peace negotiator in other peace talks between FARC and the Colombian government, including peace negotiations in San Vicente del Caguan, Colombia, from 1998 to 2002.

When the current round of talks began in 2012, the FARC named Trinidad as one of their top five negotiators. The FARC says it cannot conclude an agreement without Trinidad's presence at the talks in Havana.

Spokespersons for the Colombian government, on different occasions, have said that their government has no problem with the release of Simon Trinidad in order to facilitate the ongoing peace negotiations.

The demonstration on Sept. 21 outside the prison will call for President Obama to release Trinidad so that he can take his place at the ongoing negotiations in Havana.

On September 20, at 6:00 p.m., a public informational meeting on Simon Trinidad and the Colombian peace process will take place at the Posner Center, 1031 33rd St, Denver, CO 80205.

#DenverCO #Colombia #FARCEP #RicardoPalmera #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalPrisoners #SimónTrinidad #PoliticalRepression

Jim Byrne of Tucson, who helped organize the calls, said, “The U.S. government freeing Simon Trinidad will add to the process of achieving a lasting peace with justice in Colombia. It is time for the president to act.”

The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera said in their statement, “Ricardo Palmera, popularly known as Simon Trinidad in Colombia, is a political prisoner of the U.S. government. Simon Trinidad is being tortured in solitary confinement in the Florence, Colorado supermax prison.”

Negotiations between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) and the Colombian government are making slow but steady progress. The U.S. recently sent a special envoy to work with the Colombian government as they talk with FARC. Now Simon Trinidad is needed to add momentum to the process. Trinidad participated in past peace negotiations and is an important leader to many of the poor, farmers, and working-class Colombians.

“I just sent this announcement out to the Latin American Solidarity Committee (LASC) list in Milwaukee so hopefully we can generate some more calls. The LASC has always worked for peace and social justice,” posted Babette Grunow after making her call to President Obama at the White House.

For more information, https://www.facebook.com/SupportTheColombiaPeaceProcess or www.freericardopalmera.org

#DenverCO #AntiwarMovement #FARCEP #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #SimónTrinidad #Americas

Please call the White House and say: “I want President Obama to support peace in Colombia, to free Colombian political prisoner Simon Trinidad. Simon Trinidad belongs at the peace negotiating table not in solitary confinement.”

Explanation:

We support the Colombian Peace Process and the people’s movements of Colombia in the struggle for peace with justice. We call for an end to the repression of the Marcha Patriótica and other social movements and groups in Colombia now.

We demand the U.S. release Simon Trinidad

Ricardo Palmera, popularly known as Simon Trinidad in Colombia, is a political prisoner of the U.S. government. Simon Trinidad is being tortured in solitary confinement in the Florence, Colorado supermax prison. Trinidad beat the U.S. government in three out of four court trials.

As the negotiations between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC-EP) and the Colombian government continue in Cuba, Simon Trinidad is needed in the process. Trinidad participated in past negotiations, represents the people’s movement history, and is essential to the outcome. The FARC-EP is demanding Trinidad (Ricardo Palmera) be present at the peace talks table. For a lasting peace with justice in Colombia, the U.S. government must release Simon Trinidad.

We demand an end to Plan Colombia

We oppose the U.S. interference and military intervention in Colombia, called Plan Colombia. We demand the U.S. government stop funding, arming, training, and directing the Colombian military. Bring the U.S. military advisors and troops in Colombia home now, and end the extraditions of Colombians to the U.S.

The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera at www.Freericardopalmera.org

#UnitedStates #PoliticalPrisoners #RicardoPalmera #PeoplesStruggles #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #SimónTrinidad