On Tuesday, April 11, 2000, demonstrators gathered at the Colombian Embassy in Washington, D.C. to protest a proposed U.S. military aid package supported by some corporations. This was aimed at saving the indigenous U'wa people and supporting peace in Colombia.

"The government wants to take their land to get the oil underneath, and this had the crowd [of 100 or so protesters] incensed. Why? It depends. The envionmentalists don't like what will happen to the land. The labor supporters are concerned with the extremely high number of unionists killed in Colombia. Others said the real problem was the Colombian government was not sharing oil revenue with the people" (Dante Chinni, The Christian Science Monitor, April 14, 2000).

On one side of the street was the Colombian Embassy, the police, and embassy personel. On the other side, were demonstrators and activists of all stripes.

After handing out currency and making their pitch,

activists "marched toward Fidelity investments to berate them for having stock In Occidental Petroleum, the company which is going to do the drilling in Colombia" (Dante Chinni, The Christian Science Monitor, April 14, 2000), chanting "No more guns, no more oil, no more blood on Colombian soil."

Sprinkled throughout the crowd were demonstrators with black caps and black bandannas. As I passed back along the police line below, one officer remarked, "It's quite a peaceful crowd. But I don't quite know what to make of the kids with masks."