A paramilitary group called “The Joint Cleansing Command” sent threats warning of “extermination” to seventeen human rights organizations, according to the Center for Investigation and Popular Education (CINEP), reports El Espectador.
The group sent a signed statement to the NGOs, which CINEP says “threatens to kill” those who are “opposed to the development and security of the country.”
“Additionally, the Joint Cleansing Command expressed in the message that there is guerrilla presence in these organizations, a claim which we strongly reject,” said a statement from CINEP, adding that this threat is part of “the growing intimidation” suffered by human rights organizations.
CINEP claims that the Colombian government has not taken sufficient steps against “the increasing attacks and persecution by the new paramilitary groups on civil society.”
The NGO called for the government to “clearly define the measures of protection, and guarantees provided for human rights organizations, unions and other social and development organizations.”