We are going to kill you: a case study in corporate power left unchecked

The Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia, owned by BHP, Anglo-American, and Glencore, is accused of severe human rights and environmental violations, including forced evictions, water contamination, and health crises. Global Witness argues that the mine's owners and their European links demonstrate a systemic lack of corporate accountability, advocating for new EU legislation to make companies liable for harms caused in their global supply chains.

• The Cerrejón coal mine has caused extensive health and environmental damage in Colombia's La Guajira region, including respiratory complications for over 336,000 people and the contamination of local water sources with mercury and lead after the mine reportedly dumped 578 million litres of liquid waste into rivers and streams in 2019.
• Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities have faced land grabs and violent forced evictions to expand the mine, such as a 2016 event in the Roche community involving riot police, tear gas, and bulldozers.
• Environmental defenders and activists opposing the mine have faced death threats and attacks, with reports indicating the mine is backed by paramilitary groups.
• The Cerrejón mine has strong economic and corporate ties to Europe; in 2019, most of its 26.3 million tonnes of coal exports were shipped to the Mediterranean, and its parent companies are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). We are going to kill you: a case study in corporate power left unchecked. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corporate-accountability/we-are-going-to-kill-you-a-case-study-in-corporate-power-left-unchecked/

Chicago

Global Witness. We are going to kill you: a case study in corporate power left unchecked. n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corporate-accountability/we-are-going-to-kill-you-a-case-study-in-corporate-power-left-unchecked/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=We are going to kill you: a case study in corporate power left unchecked |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corporate-accountability/we-are-going-to-kill-you-a-case-study-in-corporate-power-left-unchecked/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitnessndare, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{We are going to kill you: a case study in corporate power left unchecked}}, institution = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corporate-accountability/we-are-going-to-kill-you-a-case-study-in-corporate-power-left-unchecked/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }