Colombia Honors the Memory of Senator Piedad Cordoba

In a tribute at the National Capitol held on Monday, Colombian authorities held a wake for peace activist Piedad Cordoba, who died at the age of 68 on Saturday.

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High officials such as Vice President Francia Marquez, and Congress President Ivan Name highlighted the historical dimension that Cordoba acquired in Colombian politics.

"Piedad Cordoba opened the doors for women in the Colombian politics and especially for Black women. I would not be vice president without the path she outlined," Marquez stated.

On Tuesday, the remains of the former senator were transferred from Quibdo, the capital of Choco, to her hometown of Medellin.

“Piedad Cordoba was a woman beaten by an era and a society. Throughout her adulthood, she fought for a more democratic society," the Colombian President Gustavo Petro said upon learning of her death.

"Her body and mind did not resist the pressure of an anachronistic society, which applauded the execution of young people, hated dialogue and peace, hated Black people, Indigenous people and the poor. Such a society treated her like a criminal," he added.

A Venezuelan official delegation left Caracas for Bogota to pay tribute to Piedad Cordoba. The high-level group was made up of authorities such as the Labor Minister Francisco Torrealba, the Culture Minister Francisco Villegas, and the ambassador Carlos Martinez.

"On behalf of President Nicolas Maduro, I feel honored to come to deliver the Venezuelan Liberators Order, as well as the Carabobo Victorious Sword, to the Afro-Colombian fighter Piedad Cordoba," Villegas wrote through social networks.

"I had the honor of reading a heartfelt communication from the Venezuelan Head of State to her mother, sons and daughters, a communication that ends with the expression, 'On behalf of Piedad, we will overcome!'."