International
Asking for permission to enter the house: the demand of Colombian indigenous people against Mennonites
“Yesterday they returned us,” say the Sikuani indigenous authorities in front of the barrier that prevents them from entering their homes, waiting for authorization to continue, and denounce that their ancestral lands, in the Colombian department of Meta, are now owned by third parties who, they say, bought them irregularly.
On the Santa Catalina farm, owned by the meat company La Fazenda, they receive a refusal to pass by the entourage of journalists that accompanies them; they try their luck with the other entrance, that of the Mennonite ultra-religious community, which does authorize them to pass.
“Our grandparents are buried here,” says Jairo Ortiz in front of one of the sacred sites of the Sikuani, now in Mennonite territory.
“In times of violence they left here, they did not sell the land to anyone and left them thrown away, at that time other people who are not indigenous arrived and they took over,” says the captain, a position of authority of this semi-nomadad people displaced in several episodes of Colombian history.
In the Meta they lived until the so-called period of “violence”, which began in 1946, when they had to flee to the neighboring departments of Vichada and Guaviare. Then they returned but came back to persecution with the “guahibiadas” and “jaramilladas”, terms used to refer to the hunts of indigenous people to displace them from their lands and seize them.
A few years ago they returned to the land of their ancestors when the Colombian conflict lowered its intensity, but they realized that theirs was now in the hands of others, including the ultra-religious Mennite community that, coming from Mexico, found the promised land in the Colombian Oriental Plains.
The problem of land in Colombia is one of the great debts of the State; it is very difficult to know whose property each property is because many territories are not entitled.
Now, the 135 Sikuani families of this settlement claim their lands and denounce their appropriation and accumulation by foreigners.
The Mennonites, when they saw the potential of the Meta, hired a lawyer who advised them on the purchase of land, so “in principle” they are legal, explains Diana Quintero, a lawyer of the National Commission of Indigenous Territories, who accompanies the Sikuani in their lawsuit, explains to EFE.
The problem comes when the titles that the Mennonites bought are analyzed, awarded by the state National Land Agency because they were vacant of the nation.
The rule says the wastelands have to remain in the hands of their owner for a certain time, but those who were sold to the religious community did not meet this deadline and the indigenous peoples were not taken into account.
Another alleged irregularity, Quintero continues, is that the allocation of vacant lots has a limit of hectares, something called the Family Agricultural Unit (UAF), and the owners of these lands acquired more than allowed by law, incurring hoarding.
Quintero maintains that the Mennonites hoard because “although they say they are different families, they are part of a nucleus” and link all their lands in the same production process, exceeding the legal limit of UAF.
“Two years ago the Mennonites began to enter little by little. He could not be told anything because they have someone who supports them,” explains Alexander Álvarez, governor of the Iwitsulibo community, which brings together 80 families, in reference to the alleged alliances of the religious community.
According to the indigenous people, in the area there is the presence of paramilitaries of the Gaitanist Self-Defense of Colombia (AUC), allied with the Mennonites to provide them with security. They travel with motorcycles without a license plate and do not identify themselves, while all the Sikuani authorities report having received threats for their demands.
The Sikuani demand a total of 58,000 hectares to be distributed among the four communities and ask for a receipt to be made. Tsabilonia is the community that is closest to getting its claims, since it has been awarded – pending formalization – a territory in extinction of domain that belonged to drug traffickers, but they demand more hectares.
At the entrance of Tsabilonia the difference in the use of the land made by both communities is visible: on the Mennonite side there is not a single tree, only hectares waiting to be cultivated, and on the Sikuani side, pasture and native vegetation.
“They are pressuring us, we are being contaminated by foreign Mennonites who come from Germany, Canada and Mexico,” denounces Albarrubiela Gaitán, the traditional authority of the Barrulia territory: “We want to be calm in our territory, cultivating our uses and customs because as indigenous people we need our motherland to live in peace and freedom.”
The plantings of the Mennonites arrive almost at the door of the house of Albarrubiela; for the moment, the religious community continues to expand the agricultural border while the Sikuani expect the Colombian Justice to issue a decision on a land that went from hope to dispute.
International
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Wildfires have burned approximately 7,800 hectares across France during the first eight days of July, already surpassing the more than 4,400 hectares destroyed throughout the entire month of July 2025, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) analyzed by AFP.
Authorities have maintained the highest wildfire alert across much of southern France as soaring temperatures and strengthening winds continue to increase the risk of new outbreaks.
Early-season fires in the departments of Pyrénées-Orientales, Drôme, and Hérault have prompted the deployment of significant firefighting personnel and equipment from across the country as emergency services work to contain the blazes.
Officials continue to monitor weather conditions closely, warning that persistent heat and strong winds could further complicate firefighting efforts in the coming days.
International
USAR El Salvador Helps Rescue Dogs Trapped for 12 Days Beneath Earthquake Rubble
Stories of survival continue to emerge from Venezuela following the powerful 7.5- and 7.2-magnitude earthquakes that struck the country on June 24. In recent days, social media has highlighted the rescue of several dogs that survived for nearly two weeks beneath collapsed buildings.
One of the rescues involved Milo, a small-breed dog that was spotted trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building. The operation was carried out jointly by members of USAR El Salvador, Topos Azteca, and Topos Azteca Nayarit, who safely brought the animal to the surface after 12 days.
Another dog, Draco, a black-and-tan Chihuahua, was rescued from the rubble of an apartment building in La Guaira. Relatives searching for missing pets were guided by the dog’s faint barking. After being rescued, Draco received first aid and hydration from a veterinary team before being transferred to a specialized clinic for further medical treatment.
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International
UN Appeals for $296 Million in Emergency Aid Following Venezuela Earthquakes
Tom Fletcher, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, is currently in Venezuela, where he has been meeting with government officials to assess the country’s humanitarian response following the recent earthquakes.
During a virtual meeting on Wednesday with ministers organized by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Fletcher issued an urgent appeal for $296 million to fund emergency relief operations.
“We have a clear plan. We need $296 million to address the socioeconomic needs of 1.3 million people over the next six months. It is a time-bound plan,” Fletcher said. He also acknowledged the support already received, adding, “Donors are stepping up, and I pay tribute to them and thank them.”
The emergency appeal comes in addition to the $632 million humanitarian response plan launched earlier this year for Venezuela, where nearly eight million people were already in need of humanitarian assistance before the earthquakes.
According to UN officials, that plan had secured only $115 million in funding before the twin earthquakes struck. Following a new wave of international contributions, the total funding has now reached $300 million.
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