{"id":32031,"date":"2026-07-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csw-yeo.1wp.site\/magazines\/total-peace-6839\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T21:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T20:22:10","slug":"total-peace-6839","status":"publish","type":"magazines","link":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/magazines\/total-peace-6839\/","title":{"rendered":"Paz total?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Scot Bower, CEO, shares why religious communities are increasingly at risk in Colombia \u2014 and how we can respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘I can’t believe you came,’ Karen said as we arrived. ‘It’s so dangerous here!’ I was in Magdalena, northern Colombia, in the home of Pastor Karen Niebles. I\u2019d met her a year earlier, not long after her husband Iv\u00e1n had been killed. Iv\u00e1n, also a pastor, was 28 when he was shot dead in January 2025, after refusing to let a local armed group store drugs and guns in their church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018He told me that he was not afraid to teach the Bible, that his life was new,\u2019 Karen shared at the time. \u2018He told me, \u201cFor me to live is Christ and to die is gain.\u201d\u2019 When we met again this year, Karen explained how several men had recently been killed in a shooting. Violence like this has become all too normal. He told me, \u201cFor me to live is Christ and to die is gain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Persecuted, but not destroyed<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2026, a small team from CSW were in Colombia for the launch of Perseguidos mas no Destruidos<\/i> (Persecuted but not Destroyed) \u2014 a book of memories from the lived experiences of the Nasa Indigenous Evangelical Church, in the south-western department of Cauca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan had been for church and community leaders to join us in Bogot\u00e1 for a high-profile launch in parliament, to draw attention to the suffering of indigenous religious minorities. But that plan had to change. It was decided that there was a very real risk to life for some of the contributors if they were to speak publicly, especially with national elections looming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it was too risky for these leaders to come to Bogot\u00e1, we would go to them instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nasa community, Cauca<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After several hours driving through the hills of Cauca, we arrived at our destination: a small settlement with a breezeblock church building. Children ran up to welcome us, while men stood drinking sweet coffee and women tended a cooking pot that was simmering on a fire. With rain bouncing off the metal roof, we sat in the church set with rows of garden chairs, and listened to shared memories of persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brave families stood one by one and told their stories from the past 20 years. Stories of threats and violence, of arrests and beatings and murder. For many, even the simple act of telling their stories, especially to foreigners who had Lead story: Colombia travelled to their community, was immensely significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One said to us: \u2018We are thankful because you kept and fulfilled your word. Now we have our own book. For many people it may not seem important, but for us it is a great step forward.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expanding violence<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The violence of ideologically driven guerilla groups, as well as the countless armed criminal gangs, is reaching levels not seen for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Santa Marta, the capital of Magdalena, we met an indigenous Kogi Christian leader called Juan Carlos. He told us that, until last year, indigenous groups had been left alone by the armed criminal groups in the region. But now they were being forced to hand over half of any profits they made from their land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it wasn\u2019t just the minority Christian Kogi community that were affected. Holy places associated with the majority religion (traditional indigenous beliefs) had also been desecrated and destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This recent rise in violence is not limited to remote indigenous areas, either. In the urban landscape of Santa Marta, pastors Rodian and Kelly stood beside the rubble of their church and home, which had been burnt to the ground by a local armed group. Its leader had ordered its destruction after hearing Rodian preaching from the Bible. Less than a mile away is the bustling tourist heart of this Caribbean city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Without protecting the vulnerable, how can there ever be total peace?\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before leaving Magdalena, we were keen to check in with our friend Pastor Karen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had asked if we would be willing to spend time with her family at their home, and it felt important to honour the invitation. One of the principles of CSW is to stand in solidarity with those who suffer injustice because of their religion or belief. And here, in the \u2018Banana Zone\u2019 of Magdalena \u2014 in territory controlled by armed criminal groups \u2014 that invitation to stand with her felt, once again, like a privilege.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We sat and talked on her front porch, played with the kids and ate plantain. We admired a parrot that lives in the tree outside their bungalow. It felt extremely normal. But less than 50 metres from where we sat, hidden from view by the tree, is the place where Iv\u00e1n was shot and killed \u2014 where the police refused to attend because they were too afraid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The men who killed Iv\u00e1n are still free; the level of impunity here is almost unbelievable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of their peaceful influence in communities, religious leaders are obvious targets for illegal armed and criminal groups seeking total control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the Colombian government stripped religious leaders of state protections in 2023 \u2014 leaving them exposed to the rising tide of violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since December 2024, at least 11 religious leaders have been kidnapped or killed. Iv\u00e1n is one of them. In this beautiful, hospitable country, religious leaders need protecting. And we can all play a part in seeing that happen. It\u2019s because of people like Karen and Iv\u00e1n, Rodian and Kelly, Juan Carlos and many others that we\u2019ve launched a new campaign: Total Peace.<\/i> We\u2019re calling the Colombian government to recognise the unique risks that religious leaders face, and urgently restore their protection. Because without protecting the vulnerable, can there ever be total peace?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Act now. Sign our petition<\/b>, urging the Colombian government to protect religious leaders: csw.org.uk\/TotalPeace<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equip your church<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking to get involved with your church? We\u2019d love to help. You can book a speaker, share a video, download prayer resources, and order petition postcards at csw.org.uk\/TotalPeaceResources<\/b><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Protect Colombia’s Religious Leaders<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10220,"template":"","regions":[139,137],"class_list":["post-32031","magazines","type-magazines","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","regions-colombia","regions-latin-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazines\/32031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazines"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/magazines"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazines\/32031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41804,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazines\/32031\/revisions\/41804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions?post=32031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}