Human Rights & Election Observation Delegation to Colombia

The Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN) builds partnerships among social movements and communities in the U.S. and Latin America, using popular education, grassroots organizing, advocacy, and direct action to challenge U.S. militarism, neoliberalism, and other forms of state violence, guided by liberating faith traditions and a commitment to human dignity.

For over two decades, CRLN has engaged in faith-rooted solidarity with human rights defenders and resistance communities in Colombia, challenging U.S. policies like Plan Colombia that fueled militarization, displacement, and human rights abuses, especially impacting Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities. CRLN has accompanied and advocated for displaced peoples, opposed aerial fumigation, and supported the implementation of the 2016 Peace Accords, including protections for defenders and the right of communities to return to their lands.

CRLN invites you to join us for a human rights and election observation mission taking place from May 24 to June 1, with Colombia’s general elections scheduled for Sunday, May 31.

The delegation will serve as a space for political education, solidarity, and international election observation. Participants will receive training and serve as observers during Colombia’s general elections, engaging directly with local monitoring efforts and examining what the electoral process means for historically excluded communities.

Participants will analyze Colombia’s current political and human rights landscape through engagement with grassroots movements and human rights defenders. They will hear firsthand testimonies that ground political analysis in lived experience. Participants will also engage in dialogue with survivors of the war in a post-war context, learning how they are advancing processes of truth, justice, and collective repair. Together, these experiences will offer a deeper understanding of Colombia’s social and political realities while strengthening international solidarity with communities working toward peace and liberation.

Apply by filling out the online application. Applicants will be informed if they have been invited to attend the delegation by May 4, 2026.

Apply here: https://forms.gle/ZfwUByN4bvvCgUiJA If you have questions or would like more information contact Jhonathan Gómez at jgomez@crln.org.

Delegation Goals

1. Electoral Observation
   ● Serve as an international observer during Colombia’s general elections (May 31)
   ● Receive training and engage directly with local observation missions, civil society organizations, and electoral monitors
   ● Examine what elections mean for historically excluded communities, as well as survivors of the armed confl ict
2. Human Rights & Political Education
   ● Learn about human rights conditions in Colombia through engagement with grassroots organizations, movements, and human rights defenders
   ● Analyze the current political landscape and its relationship to electoral politics
   ● Hear firsthand testimonies that ground political analysis in lived experience
3. Historic Memory & Solidarity
   ● Engage with survivors of the armed confl ict to understand processes of memory, truth, and collective repair
   ● Learn from survivor-led efforts to advance justice and reconciliation in a post-war context
   ● Build relationships grounded in solidarity with communities working toward truth and collective healing

Who Should Apply?

• Organizers, activists, college students
• People committed to international solidarity and social justice
• Individuals willing to engage respectfully with communities

Cost

• Sliding scale of $1,600 – $1,400 / This price does not include fl ights to Colombia
  (The sliding supports CRLN’s fi nancial assistance to delegation participants who request it)
• ✔ Includes housing, most meals, in country transportation, and delegation coordination
• ✈ Flights estimated: $600–$900, depending the date purchased
• X THE COST DOES NOT INCLUDE FLIGHTS TO COLOMBIA. Flights must be purchased by participants.

Delegation Size?

• 8–14 participants

Payment Timeline

• Unrefundable deposit: $250 (upon acceptance)
• Final balance due 3 weeks before departure date
• Financial support available

Delegation Requirements, Participants are Required to:

• Attend 2 pre-delegation Zoom meetings – Review and study background materials on Colombia’s social and political contex
• Advanced level of comprehension of the Spanish language is required
• Participants are expected to participate fully in all meetings, and activities of the delegation, including the work that will happen as an international election observer.
• Participants are expected to participate in collective post-delegation report-back and public education, and advocacy efforts.

How to Apply

Apply by filling out the online application. Applicants will be informed if they have been invited to attend the delegation by May 4, 2026.

Apply here: https://forms.gle/ZfwUByN4bvvCgUiJA

Applicants will be informed if they have been invited to attend the delegation by April 24, 2026. If you have questions or would like more information contact Jhonathan Gómez at jgomez@crln.org.

• Join our small group contingent for a short 5 day program from March 19 to March 23. We will be joining contingents from all over the world as they convene in HAVANA On MARCH 21.You do not have to live in Chicago to join us.
• Our HotHouse program to join the global initiative to provide emergency relief to Cuba is now accepting applications. Some travel subsidy available for low income participants.

To Contribute Material Aid

We are accepting donations of medicines and other essentials via our trusted partners at Global Health Partners. click on hyperlink to make direct donation to GHP.

We are also seeking donations of MONEY to assist with this campaign by offsetting our travel costs and supporting participation for low income delegates, or contributing to purchasing life saving supplies. We will be taking one suitcase per person to deliver to the Martin Luther King Center in Havana. If you have any non-expired medicines to donate, please text 312-752-5316 to arrange delivery.

please send donations via Zelle (The Center for International Performance and Exhibition) or by check to HotHouse 5555 N. Sheridan Apt. 1107 Chicago 60640 please do not write “Cuba” on check or Zelle memos. Or BUY a ticket or donate via the eventbrite link for our upcoming Fundraiser for the Convoy on March 15 at https://tinyurl.com/4arrtr9c. Thank you

EMERGENCY STATEMENT: WE REPUDIATE THE ATTACKS BY THE UNITED STATES AGAINST VENEZUELA

January 3, 2025

The Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN) joins the international community and solidarity movements in the United States to unequivocally denounce the illegal and unconstitutional military assault carried out today by the Trump regime against the sovereign Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

The aggressive operation resulting in indiscriminate bombings of Venezuelan cities and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces, constitutes a blatant act of war, a violation of international law, and an affront to the fundamental principles of national sovereignty and self-determination.

We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the use of U.S. military force as a tool of imperial domination. This assault is not a legitimate act of defense, but a continuation of decades of coercive economic warfare, sanctions, political interference, and now overt military aggression directed at Venezuela’s people and government. Such actions not only violate the United Nations Charter but undermine global norms of peace and diplomacy.

We stand in unwavering solidarity with the people of Venezuela, with workers, students, families, and communities whose lives are imperiled by this unjustified intervention. We affirm the inherent right of the Venezuelan people to determine their own future free from foreign domination, and we recognize their struggle as part of a broader global fight against militarism, coercion, and empire.

Today’s events should serve as a call to all peoples and governments around the world: we must unite to denounce this act of aggression, uphold international law, and mobilize in defense of democracy.


CRLN

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DECLARACIÓN DE EMERGENCIA
REPUDIAMOS LOS ATAQUES DE ESTADOS UNIDOS CONTRA VENEZUELA

La Red de Lideres Religiosos de Chicago por Latinoamérica (Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America, CRLN) se suma a la comunidad internacional y a los movimientos de solidaridad en Estados Unidos para denunciar de manera inequívoca el ataque militar ilegal e inconstitucional llevado a cabo hoy por el régimen de Trump contra la soberana República Bolivariana de Venezuela.

La operación agresiva, que resultó en bombardeos indiscriminados de ciudades venezolanas y en el secuestro del presidente Nicolás Maduro por fuerzas estadounidenses, constituye un acto flagrante de guerra, una violación del derecho internacional y una afrenta a los principios fundamentales de soberanía nacional y autodeterminación de los pueblos.

Condenamos, en los términos más enérgicos posibles, el uso de la fuerza militar de Estados Unidos como instrumento de dominación imperialista. Este ataque no es un acto legítimo de defensa, sino la continuación de décadas de guerra económica coercitiva, sanciones, injerencia política y, ahora, agresión militar abierta dirigida contra el pueblo y el gobierno de Venezuela. Tales acciones no solo violan la Carta de las Naciones Unidas, sino que socavan las normas globales de paz y diplomacia.

Nos solidarizamos de manera inquebrantable con el pueblo de Venezuela—con las y los trabajadores, estudiantes, familias y comunidades cuyas vidas se ven amenazadas por esta intervención injustificada. Afirmamos el derecho inherente del pueblo venezolano a determinar su propio futuro, libre de dominación extranjera, y reconocemos su lucha como parte de una batalla global más amplia contra el militarismo, la coerción y el imperio.

Los acontecimientos de hoy deben servir como un llamado urgente a todos los pueblos y gobiernos del mundo: debemos unirnos para denunciar este acto de agresión, defender el derecho internacional y movilizarnos en defensa de la democracia.


CRLN

May 1 is for the workers, we are all workers, and it is International Workers’ Day. May Day is a bittersweet forgotten history for anyone living in Chicago. If one is paying attention to the marches that happen from México, Guatemala, Chile to Brazil, and around the world, Chicago is almost always referenced. As the retired Reverend Dan Dale remind’s us at CRLN ¨May Day was forged from the bloodshed and bravery of workers in Chicago, who dared to dream of a world where they would be treated with dignity.¨

On May 1, 1886, thousands of Chicago workers participated in a national strike demanding what today itself may seem in need of reform, the infamous eight-hour workday.

On May 4, during a peaceful rally at Haymarket Square, people protested police violence from a previous strike, and a bomb was thrown at the police. The police retaliated by opening fire and killing several people. The person responsible for the bomb was never identified. This led to eight people being arrested and four being executed.

August Spies – German-born editor of the anarchist newspaper Arbeiter-Zeitung.
Albert Parsons – Former Confederate soldier turned socialist and anarchist, editor of The Alarm.
Adolph Fischer – Printer and labor activist.
George Engel – German immigrant and militant socialist.

¡Presente!

The Haymarket Martyrs, as they were now known, became international symbols of working-class resistance. The memory of the Chicago Martyrs found a special connection with other worker movements in Latin America and Europe. Many of us who grew-up or know Latin American history find it ironic that despite many efforts to erase this radical history in the U.S., countries across Latin America and the world honor May Day as a day of action, historic memory and resistance, helping preserve this historic memory. May Day is a day people march to reclaim the dignity of workers, to demand justice for the poor, and to fight back against the violence of neoliberalism, exploitation and the political repression of capitalism.

Here in Chicago, in 2006, this forgotten historic memory was fused with the efforts for migrant justice that brought the immigrant rights marches of 2006, 2007 and 2008 into action. Organizers were aware of the importance of the date and participated in a historic moment that saw over 500,000 people, many from Latin America marching to have their voices heard in the streets of Chicago. I personally remember those marches because they hold a special place in my political education and formation. People filled the streets demanding comprehensive immigration reform, an end to deportations, and recognition of their labor and humanity. These marches were not only some of the largest in U.S. history but also a turning point that connected immigrant rights to the broader struggle for workers’ rights. Today, these demands remain unanswered. Some of us believe some aspects are worse. While we have won many local and national fights that benefit migrants, our undocumented sisters and brothers are owed so much more. One day soon, we will be able to talk about reparations for our undocumented community in the USA. And that painful conversations will have to include how forced migration was always a factor of decades of predatory and failed U.S. foreign policy.

CRLN honors the martyrs of 1886 and the millions who marched in the 2006. They are who continue to be the spirit of this movement. Their struggle is not in the past, it lives in undocumented workers fighting for fair wages, and students resisting family separation.

Under today’s repressive regime, as authoritarianism threatens the lives of all immigrants, workers, and the most vulnerable, we must take to the streets again.

On May 1, CRLN will be in the streets to honor the historic memory of the 1886 Martyrs, as well as the memory of the 2006 marches and to participate as we write a new chapter of resistance for Chicago and the United States.

¡No nos vamos!

CRLN will join the Interfaith Gathering that Arise Chicago has organized.

📅 Date: May 1, 2025

🕙 Time: 9:30AM – 10.30AM

📍 Location: Union Park, 1501 W Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60606

Saint Oscar Romero was a courageous voice for justice and human rights in El Salvador. As Archbishop, he became a new voice of hope during the brutal repression of the war. He understood that he must use his pulpit to denounce the violence and injustices inflicted on the poor by the military dictatorship. Romero was committed to truth and justice, despite receiving threats and ultimately being assassinated by U.S.-trained death squads in 1980, he continues to inspire movements for peace and dignity across the Americas.

In today’s context, where immigrant communities are among the most vulnerable and are targets of the rising authoritarian Trump regime, Romero’s legacy serves as a reminder of the power of faith-rooted resistance and actions in confronting oppressive systems.

The Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN) was founded in part as a response to Romero’s prophetic work for the oppressed. His vision for justice is embedded in our mission as we stand in solidarity with resistance communities in Central America and fight with immigrant rights communities in Chicago. That is why we are honored to partner with Centro Romero—an institution that has served the immigrant and refugee community in Chicago for over 40 years. Though March is traditionally the month in which we celebrate Saint Romero’s life, every day remains an opportunity to honor his memory by working to dismantle injustice, from El Salvador to the streets of Chicago.

Romero’s legacy lives on through the continued efforts of Centro Romero, CRLN, and Alianza Americas. Centro Romero addresses urgent needs through direct services, while CRLN advances interfaith advocacy, education and action for systemic change. Together, we are committed to educating, empowering, and organizing immigrant, Latino/a, and refugee communities to confront today’s injustices with the same courage and conviction that Romero embodied. Join us on April 30 at 10AM.


📅 Date: April 30, 2025

🕙 Time: 10:00 AM

📍 Location: Pueblo Unido Gallery at Centro Romero, 6212 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60660

January 14, 2025


EMERGENCY ACTIONS

– E-mail and/or call your Alderperson to request they VOTE NO on O2023-0004222 on Jan 15th.

– Attend the City Council meeting and give public comment against the ordinance on Jan 15th

• Participate In-Person: 📢 Be at the ground floor of City Hall between 8–9am
• Participate Virtually: 📞 (312) 744-6800 on Jan 13th or 14th and leave a message with your name and telephone number.
  

For decades, the Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN) has stood firmly in support of Chicago as a sanctuary for all. CRLN is an unapologetic advocate for Chicago’s Sanctuary City status, rooted in a commitment to justice, human rights, and the protection of immigrant communities.

Since the passage of the original Sanctuary City Ordinance in 1985, Chicago has been a leader in protecting immigrant rights and fostering community safety. For nearly four decades, this ordinance has provided vital protections to immigrant families, allowing them to live without fear of deportation or harassment. This legacy reflects our city’s values of inclusion, dignity, and fairness, and we must continue to uphold and defend it against those who want to dismantle these protections.

Research from the Center for American Progress found that counties with sanctuary policies experience lower crime rates and stronger community trust than those without such protections (American Progress). Additionally, a study from the Center for Growth and Opportunity revealed that Latina women living in counties with sanctuary policies face a 62% lower rate of domestic homicide (Center for Growth and Opportunity).

Proposals to amend the ordinance jeopardize these achievements. By allowing ICE to act on mere arrests, the proposed changes infringe on due process, as arrests alone often do not lead to charges or convictions. They also conflict with the Illinois TRUST Act, which prohibits local police from complying with ICE detainers or warrants without judicial approval. Further, vague language about “gang- and prostitution-related activities” risks arbitrary enforcement, disproportionately targeting vulnerable individuals.

The consequences of these changes extend beyond immigrant communities. According to a 2017 study by the National Immigration Law Center, sanctuary policies improve cooperation between immigrant communities and local authorities, fostering a safer environment for everyone (National Immigration Law Center).

CRLN calls on Chicagoans to take action: contact your alderperson, attend protests, and support immigrant rights organizations. This is a pivotal moment and we must stand together to protect Chicago’s legacy as a Sanctuary City and reaffirm our shared values of justice, compassion, and solidarity.

EMERGENCY ACTIONS

– E-mail and/or call your Alderperson to request they VOTE NO on O2023-0004222 on Jan 15th.

– Attend the City Council meeting and give public comment against the ordinance on Jan 15th

• Participate In-Person: 📢 Be at the ground floor of City Hall between 8–9am
• Participate Virtually: 📞 (312) 744-6800 on Jan 13th or 14th and leave a message with your name and telephone number.
  
  

– CRLN