Colombian Senator Piedad Córdoba being greeted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez at Miraflores Palace, Caracas.
Piedad Córdoba, Black Colombian leftist senator for the Historical Pact, fearless leader, and defender of human rights, passed away on January 20, 2023. Her relentless pursuit of peace and steadfastness in the face of the onslaught of right-wing attacks will be remembered.
Originally published in OrinocoTribune.com.
Caracas —The Colombian social leader and leftist senator for the Historical Pact, Piedad Córdoba, passed away in Medellín at the age of 68. Córdoba, who passed away on Saturday, January 20, was instrumental in the signing of the Peace Agreement between FARC-EP and the Colombian government in 2016 and also played an important role in the release of FARC-EP prisoners.
According to local media, on Saturday afternoon Córdoba’s security team took her to a healthcare center, but she arrived without vital signs. It appears that she suffered a heart attack while she was in her apartment.
During the last few days, Córdoba had remained hospitalized in the Rosario clinic, in Medellin, the capital of Antioquia department. She had been experiencing health problems for several months. In August last year she had to be urgently hospitalized due to a urinary infection.
The Afro-Colombian senator held important positions in Colombian politics. She was part of the Liberal Party and worked for women’s rights and ethnic and sexual rights. She was the leader of the Poder Ciudadano movement, the leftist section of the Liberal Party.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro mourned Córdoba’s death and lamented the persecution that she had suffered for years under the right-wing governments of Colombia. “Her body and mind could not resist the pressure of an anachronistic society, which applauded the killing of young people, which hated dialogue and peace, which hated blacks, indigenous people and the poor, which treated her like a criminal,” Petro wrote on Twitter.
Tireless fighter
Piedad Córdoba was a lawyer and politician, born in Medellín in 1955. She graduated as a lawyer from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana.
Since the beginning of her political life in the Liberal Party, Córdoba left a mark on the Colombian society and politics due to her social commitment and her fight for peace amid the civil war in Colombia. She stood out early for her progressive character. Her rise in politics led her to occupy significant positions in the municipal administration of Medellín, becoming a close associate of Mayor William Jaramillo.
Córdoba was elected as a councilor, and later went on to become a congresswoman and senator, establishing herself as a political leader.
She was kidnapped by the right-wing United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia in 1999, and after going into exile in Canada, she returned to the country to continue her political work.
She fiercely opposed the extremist positions of former far-right President Álvaro Uribe, whom she constantly accused of supporting paramilitary groups, drug trafficking groups and of destroying peace in the region.
A friend of the Venezuelan people, she developed a close friendship with Commander Hugo Chávez, with whom she promoted several of the ideas that strengthened the Latin American golden decade, in which organizations such as UNASUR, CELAC, and ALBA-TCP were born.
Starting in 2012, she ventured into political journalism as host and leader of the program Causa Justa, produced by Telesur. In 2018, Córdoba was elected senator for the Colombia Humana party, led by Gustavo Petro. In the Senate, she continued to work for peace and human rights.
Tributes
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, expressed his regret over Córdoba’s death. Via social media Maduro referred to her as “one of the bravest women” he has ever known, and described her as “a great revolutionary, fighter, fervent defender of human rights and the peace of the people.”
He highlighted that Córdova always stood firm in the face of the persecutions against her and the defamation that her adversaries orchestrated against her, in the face of which “her morale and that strength to overcome any difficulty prevailed.”
“Dear friend Piedad, how many battles you had to face and fight for your country?” the Venezuelan president wrote. “Tireless warrior and one of the bravest women I have ever met, a great revolutionary, fighter, and fervent defender of human rights and peace of the people. Despite facing great threats, her morale and strength to overcome any difficulty prevailed. Her love for her beloved Colombia was immense. From Venezuela, the Bolivarian land that she loved so much, I send my deepest condolences to her family and the Colombian people.”
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel regretted Piedad Cordova’s passing. “Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Senator Piedad Córdoba, who for many years worked for peace in Colombia and was a great friend of Cuba,” he wroter on social media.
Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa also regretted Cordova’s untimely death. “What a blow! Rest in peace, dear friend and compañera. You embodied the fight and resistance in the face of infinite evil. Ever onward to victory!” wrote Correa on social media.
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales also expressed his sorrow with the following message: “We regret the physical departure of our colleague Piedad Córdoba, a great defender of human rights. The sisters and brothers of Colombia and all of South America have had the great honor of fighting by your side for a decolonized, more plural, and inclusive continent. From Bolivia, we send our condolences to her family, colleagues, and fellow fighters.”
Former Uruguayan President Pepe Mujica lamented her passing. “May you rest in peace Piedad Córdoba, fighter and revolutionary,” wrote the political leader.
Similarly, the Cuban Minister for Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez wrote on his social media, “We regret the death of Senator Piedad Córdoba, defender of human rights and peace processes in Colombia, who was a friend of Cuba. Our condolences to family and friends.”
Venezuelan Minister for Culture Ernesto Villegas wrote the following about an interview he did with her in 2021: “This message was sent by Piedad Córdoba to Venezuela in an interview I did with her in July 2021. At the hour of her departure, I repeat her own words for her: ‘Love is repaid with love.’ All the affection for the memory of this Afro-Colombian woman and the solidarity for her loved ones. The attacks of her enemies, conscious or unconscious agents of structural racism, only heighten her memory. With her, the word piety [the meaning of her name] became synonymous with solidarity.”
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