Luis Díaz is joining FC Bayern Munich

With Luis Díaz, FC Bayern Munich has signed a man whose personal history is closely linked to one of the most conflict-ridden regions of Latin America: the peninsula of La Guajira in the north of Colombia: “The region is characterized by extreme poverty and increasing drought – and it is the center of a gigantic coal mining area that has been destroying the livelihoods of the indigenous Wayúu and the Afro-Colombian communities for decades,” stated Jan Königshausen, expert on Indigenous communities at the Society for Threatened Peoples.

“The people who live there are often suffering from a lack of clean drinking water, protection from violence, and prospects for the future,” Königshausen said. “What many people don’t know is that some of the electricity we use here in Germany – the coal that heats our homes – is extracted from that region.”

The Cerrejón coal mine in La Guajira is operated by the Swiss commodities group Glencore. “Glencore stands for massive environmental destruction and systematic human rights violations: rivers are diverted, the soil is poisoned, and villages are forcibly resettled. There are ongoing reports of connections to paramilitary groups, intimidation, and violence,” the human rights activist stated. According to reports, Díaz himself was indirectly affected by the violence in his hometown Barrancas: In October 2023, his parents were abducted by the ELN – a criminal, heavily armed organization.

“Instead of the coal boom slowing down, the region is now under more pressure than ever before. Once again, land is being expropriated – this time for wind power and solar projects. History is repeating itself, under the guise of “green energy,” despite the fact that the local population does not have access to electricity or safe drinking water. This is just one of many examples of green colonialism in the Global South,” Königshausen criticized.