AP Discovers Environmentalists Risk Lives, US Aid Continues Unaffected
The Associated Press relays the harrowing story of Jani Silva, an environmental activist in Colombia who cannot sleep in her own home due to constant threats. Colombia, AP notes, is the deadliest country globally for environmental defenders, with 48 killings reported in 2024 alone by Global Witness. What the mainstream narrative consistently omits is the complicity of global powers, particularly
the US, whose foreign policy and corporate interests often fuel the very extractive industries defenders like Silva fight against. For instance, the US provides significant military and economic aid to Colombia, averaging hundreds of millions annually, while routinely downplaying or ignoring human rights abuses tied to resource extraction. One might wonder if the US State Department finds it's
'safe to live here' for the corporations extracting oil and minerals, given their consistent support for governments that enable such activities. This systematic silence on the drivers of violence, while lamenting its symptoms, allows the relentless pursuit of profits to continue, sacrificing activists like Silva on the altar of perpetual growth.