What is Colombia seeking in NATO?

Colombia will be the first Latin American country to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a “global partner.”

The South American nation already has a strong United States military presence in its territory, supposedly with the objective of combating drug trafficking. But its incorporation into NATO, a symbol of the interventionist militarism of Washington and its European allies, is an even more controversial step.

Is Colombia the most dangerous country for trade unionists and social activists?

Members of right-wing paramilitary terrorist
group in Colombia.

Source: TeleSur.

"It is better not to say anything, it is better not to talk, not to speak, it is better to be silent to stay alive," a local priest said.

The murder of a social activist has become an almost weekly news event in Colombia as more than 100 community leaders have been killed over the past year by right-wing paramilitaries, Empire Files Abby Martin reports.

Just a year after the signing of what was thought to be the monumental movement towards peace with the country’s largest guerrilla group and Colombian government calling a truce, the violence targeting union and social leaders has rocketed.