The fragile ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hezbollah last month is holding. 

But satellite imagery shows that at least 46 of 54 towns and villages within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “Yellow Line” in southern Lebanon have been heavily damaged or, in some cases, entirely flattened. 

Much of the destruction and demolition has taken place in recent weeks.

Bellingcat’s satellite imagery analysis examined towns and villages identified on OpenStreetMap, a community-driven map database. Medium resolution PlanetScope satellite imagery covering each of the locations was provided by Planet Labs, a US company that recently restricted some of its imagery in the Middle East.

Bellingcat is sharing the annotated PlanetScope imagery for the dates of March 2 and May 8, 2026, showing the scale of damage that has occurred during roughly the first two months of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

The towns and villages detailed in the map are colour coded. Red shows locations  that have suffered varying degrees of damage or destruction, while yellow shows locations that were damaged prior to the US-Israeli war with Iran. White shows locations that have not been significantly damaged at time of publication.

Scroll and zoom to see damage throughout southern Lebanon in each of the date tabs. The first image is from March 2, 2026, shortly after the US and Israel attacked Iran. The second image is from May 8, 2026, more than two months after the start of the war and amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. PlanetScope imagery via Planet Labs PBC.

Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, is reported to have stated that “all homes in Lebanese villages near the border will be destroyed — in accordance with the Rafah and Beit Hanoun model in Gaza”. The aim, Katz said, is to “remove, once and for all, the threats near the border”. Israel has adopted similar methods of flattening buildings and homes close to Israel’s border in Gaza.

The large-scale destruction in southern Lebanon has been reported by multiple outlets including the BBC, CNN, SkyNews and The New York Times. These reports have shared images from several towns and villages, but Bellingcat is publishing satellite imagery for the entirety of southern Lebanon. The changes between the two dates show the scale and pace of destruction.

Within the Yellow Line  — the area occupied by the IDF since a ceasefire was agreed between Hezbollah and Israel on April 16 —  some towns were reported already destroyed or heavily damaged during the 2024 Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon. Some — like the coastal border town of Naqoura or the southeastern border town of Kfar Kila — have now been largely demolished. This is visible in both the medium-resolution PlanetScope imagery, and in high-resolution imagery obtained from Airbus by the BBC.   

Everything south of Lebanon’s Litani and Zahrani Rivers has been under evacuation orders issued by the IDF since early March, with regular updates warning residents to leave ahead of airstrikes. 

Much of the destruction within the “Yellow Line” appears to be from either controlled demolitions using explosives or construction vehicles. The IDF has shared numerous videos showing large-scale demolitions conducted in the towns and villages in southern Lebanon, while videos shared elsewhere on social media show the aftermath — large parts of towns like Beit Lif or Kheim reduced to rubble. 

One particularly large explosion took place in the small village of Qantara, where the IDF says it found two large tunnel systems built by Hezbollah. 

The tunnels were detonated with 450 tonnes of explosives, leaving large parts of the village obliterated. Another video released by the IDF showed some of the few remaining buildings in the nearby village of Aadashit being demolished with explosives. The IDF claimed the buildings were “Hezbollah infrastructure”.

Before and after imagery from Planet Labs shows the villages of Qantara and Aadshit in southern Lebanon on March 2 and April 30, 2026. The April imagery shows the aftermath of two large demolitions conducted by the IDF. Large parts of both villages have also been demolished. The UNP 7-1 label details the position of a UN peacekeepers facility.

Bellingcat contacted the IDF for comment on the details in this story but did not receive a response before publication. 

A full size version of the map can be found here.

---

Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here. You can also subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on Bluesky here, Instagram here, Reddit here and YouTube here.

The post Satellite Imagery Shows Ongoing Demolitions Across Southern Lebanon appeared first on bellingcat.

Since the beginning of 2026, at least four landslides are reported to have killed hundreds of people at the Rubaya mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a major global source of coltan. Coltan is widely used in smartphones, laptops and e-vehicles.

With the mines currently under the control of the Rwandan-backed group M23, and access restricted to journalists and many NGOs, the true number of casualties remains unclear. Frequent cellular network disruptions have also been reported across the region.

In the absence of reliable on-the-ground coverage, Bellingcat used open source methods to examine statements from the authorities and media reports. Bellingcat confirmed several incidents in which villages were engulfed in the landslide and residents living near the mine were among those killed.

Landslide No.1 – January 28

Reports of a deadly landslide killing more than 200 people began appearing in international media in late January and early February. 

Three days after the incident, the DRC government made a statement on Facebook outlining that at least 200 people had been killed. They said the landslide was “a consequence of the rampant and illegal mining by Rwanda and the M23/AFC”.

In response, the M23-appointed local governor, Lumumba Muyisa, told Reuters that at least 200 people had been killed, but attributed the landslide to heavy rains. 

Landslides are common in small-scale mines, especially during the rainy season, which in Rubaya spans from September to May and peaks between March and April. 

Bellingcat cross-checked local media reports against one of the few social media posts about the incident, geolocating the phone footage to a mining pit south-east of Rubaya. In the video, the narrator speaking in Kinyarwanda (the national language of Rwanda, also spoken in eastern DRC) pans from the top to the bottom of the slope. Filmed at a distance, no bodies are visible in the footage.

Satellite imagery captured before and after the first landslide shows how the mud advanced down the slope.

Landslide No.2 – March 3

Just over a month later, a second landslide was reported. On Facebook, the DR Congo Ministry of Mines released a statement including a provisional death toll of more than 200 people:

However, senior M23 official Fanny Kaj, speaking to AP, rejected the DRC government’s claims, stating: 

“I can confirm what people are publishing is not true. There was no landslide; there were bombings, and the death toll isn’t what people are saying. It’s simply about five people who died,” Kaj said. 

The same day the second landslide was reported, another M23 spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, announced an attack involving “combat drones and heavy artillery”, at a location more than 250km from Rubaya.

Speaking to eyewitnesses at the mines, international media reported a landslide triggered by heavy rains, with no mention of bombings – only of workers buried under the earth. 

Bellingcat verified several social media videos of the second incident, in which dozens of people are seen digging for those buried under the mud. The clip below is an edited excerpt that excludes graphic images of bodies.

Edited video clip (left) geolocated to the camera icon (right). The white line (right) shows the camera’s movement as it pans across the slope. Source: Planet Labs PBC, March 26, 2026.

Later in the video, as the camera zooms in on several bodies, the narrator speaking in Kinyarwanda says: “Those you can see here have just been pulled out. These people are dead, but others are continuing to the search operations.” 

Due to the low quality of the footage, an accurate body count was not possible. 

Bellingcat geolocated footage of landslide No. 2 to the same location as landslide No. 1, shown in the satellite imagery below.

M23 did not respond to a request for comment on findings contradicting senior official Fanny Kaj’s claim that no landslide occurred on 3 March.

Landslide No.3 – March 7

Four days later, a third landslide was reported, with estimates of more than 300 people killed, according to civil society official Telesphore Nitendike. Speaking to EFE, Nitendike said the landslide had affected “more than 40 families” as houses were “swept away” by the mud.

Satellite imagery shows the landslide advancing from east to west as mud surged down the slope.

Before and after the third landslide on March, 3. Source: Planet Labs PBC.

Bellingcat verified more than a dozen social media videos from the third incident, the majority posted on X by local media accounts. Almost all contained highly distressing content, including the bodies of young children. In one video, the narrator walks through a crowd of more than a hundred people, then stops and pans across several bodies covered with blankets, saying: 

“These bodies were found here in Gatabi [name of village], inside houses. You can see how the houses were swallowed. The search for residents is still ongoing. It is truly a tragedy.”

As he continues filming, at least seven unclothed bodies, all young children, are seen being carried down the slope.

“You see, there, that’s another child’s body. These are children who were sleeping in their homes. Some were still in bed when they were swallowed by the landslide.”

Left: Video clip shows a body covered with a blanket on a stretcher. Right: Video clip shows the community-led rescue effort. The background satellite image shows geolocated pins marking the videos. Source: Planet Labs PBC, 16 February 2026.

Bellingcat geolocated 12 social media videos of the third landslide to a location southwest of Rubaya town.

Landslide No.4 – March 27

A fourth landslide was reported at the end of March by local outlets, describing the collapse of two mining shafts and the death of at least nine workers. 

Satellite analysis, combined with the geolocation of one social media video, indicates the fourth incident took place at the same location as landslides No.1 and No.2.

Before and after the fourth landslide on March 27. Yellow box highlights houses engulfed in the mud. Source: Planet Labs PBC.

Despite repeated attempts by Bellingcat to contact the DRC government and M23 for updated casualty figures across all four incidents, neither party responded. 

In February of this year, human rights group Global Witness called on companies and governments using or trading DRC’s coltan to ensure mine operators adhere to international human rights and environmental standards.

Bellingcat also contacted the DRC government spokesman and minister for communication and media, Patrick Muyaya, regarding a post he made on X that Bellingcat found to be promoting misinformation about the rate of expansion of the mines while under M23 control.

In the post, Muyaya urges followers to watch a video that presents itself as an open source report but includes satellite imagery falsely attributed to Bellingcat and “Planet Labs Inc.” We can confirm that this is not our work. The imagery also appears not to be from Planet Labs PBC, but from Google Earth Pro (illustrated below). 

The fabricated video was originally posted in 2025 by the Facebook account, Congo Kinshasa.

Contacted by Bellingcat, Congo Kinshasa confirmed that they were the creator of the video. Asked to explain why the satellite images were mislabeled and the analysis wrongly attributed to Bellingcat, they responded: “I don’t understand you. What exactly is your problem?”

Minister Patrick Muyaya did not respond to our request for comment on his post promoting false information.

---

Claire Press contributed to this report.

Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here. You can also subscribe to our Patreon channel here. Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on Bluesky here, Instagram here, Reddit here and YouTube here.

The post DRC’s Coltan Belt: Verifying Deadly Landslides At Mines Under M23 Control appeared first on bellingcat.

This investigation is a collaboration between Bellingcat and Colombian media outlet Cerosetenta. You can read Cerosetenta’s piece in Spanish here.

A video posted on Feb. 26 shows several men painting over graffiti in Restrepo, a neighbourhood in Bogota, Colombia, and replacing them with images of their own: a logo used by Colombian political candidate and businessman Jorge Rodriguez, who is one of the men shown in the footage.

“Today we are defending public space to stop generating hatred in future generations!” said the caption posted on Instagram by Rodriguez, who unsuccessfully ran for office in the March 2026 congressional elections as part of Centro Democratico, the country’s largest right-wing party. 

But at least one of the graffiti-ed pieces they painted over carried a message critical of, rather than promoting, hate: “Creole Nazis will not pass” – using a term that refers to Nazi sympathisers in Latin America. 

And although the faces of most of the men shown in the video were pixelated, the tattoos visible on one of them have multiple similarities with a prominent member of neo-Nazi group Active Club Bogota – an individual known as Javier “Orlik” Ruiz, whom Rodriguez follows on Instagram and who “liked” the video.

In response to Bellingcat and Cerosetenta’s queries via Instagram, Rodriguez did not answer questions about his relationship with Active Club Bogota or the individual we identified as appearing in his videos, but said he was “not obligated to respond to any interview or request without a court order”. He also threatened legal action if we used his image or name in this investigation, saying that this would violate his rights to privacy, reputation and data protection, as well as the right to his own image. 

Similarly, Ruiz did not reply to questions that Bellingcat sent via email, including on his role in Active Club Bogota, but responded to our query by threatening legal action if we used his name, image or background information about him without his “prior, express and informed authorisation”. Ruiz said in his email that, among other things, processing his personal data without authorisation could be considered a violation of personal data under Colombian law.

After Bellingcat replied to both Rodriguez and Ruiz, noting that they did not answer our questions and inviting them again to do so, Ruiz responded with another legal threat referencing data laws – again without answering any questions related to this investigation. 

Bellingcat and Cerosetenta have consulted legal experts in both the Netherlands, where Bellingcat is headquartered, and in Colombia on the question of how privacy laws in both countries are balanced against the right to freedom of expression. In light of (amongst other factors) the public interest in this information and the fact that both Rodriguez and Ruiz qualify as “public figures” (persons who have, through their acts or their position, entered the public arena), the reporting in this article and the editorial choices made by Bellingcat are protected by the freedom of expression.

Both Rodriguez’s and Ruiz’s full responses are included at the end of this article.

Active Club Bogota is the local branch of the international Active Club movement. It hosted celebrations of Adolf Hitler’s birthday at a Bogota community centre in 2025 and 2026. At the 2025 event, the group hosted a Nazi-inspired book burning. This year, the group celebrated with Nazi swastika cupcakes, a swastika-emblazoned birthday cake and the screening of a 1940 Nazi propaganda film.

Bellingcat and our Colombian partner Cerosetenta reached out multiple times via email and phone to the president of the relevant Community Action Board managing the community centre where these events were held, using contact information listed in a document by the local mayor’s office. As of publication, we have not received a response to our emails, and calls to the president of the community centre have gone unanswered.

Active Club Bogota, which has had an online presence since early 2024, appears to be the only officially recognised South American chapter of the neo-Nazi network started in the US by white supremacist Robert Rundo. The international movement, which Bellingcat has covered extensively, is known for using fitness, fighting and fashion to recruit young men and boys into the far right, normalise fascist ideas and prepare them for physical violence against perceived enemies. 

Active Club Bogota’s official Instagram account followed just over 60 accounts earlier this year. Rodriguez’s public Instagram account was, and continues to be, one of them. In March this year, Rodriguez also “liked” a March 2026 post from the group that featured a flag for a neo-Nazi movement. 

While Rodriguez was unsuccessful in his bid for a seat in parliament, garnering just 4,401 votes, he presents himself as a prominent member of Centro Democratico and claims to have founded the party’s largest youth group. 

He has appeared in photos and events on his social media alongside notable figures from the party, such as former Vice Minister of Justice Rafael Nieto Loaiza, party director Gabriel Vallejo, presidential candidate Paloma Valencia and the party’s founder, Alvaro Uribe Velez.

Alexander Ritzmann, a senior advisor with the Counter-Extremism Project (CEP), told Bellingcat that an affiliation between Active Club Bogota and a political actor like Rodriguez should be taken seriously.

Heidi Beirich, co-founder of Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE), said that any sort of legitimacy lent to an outwardly neo-Nazi group, like those that make up the Active Club movement, “sets a dangerous precedent”.

Bellingcat’s investigation into Active Club Bogota also suggests that the group has connections with the international far-right, with allies and “brothers” from Brazil to Spain, as well as apparent links with Combat 18, a violent neo-Nazi network accused of being an “international criminal organisation” and terrorist group. There is no evidence to suggest that Rodriguez has any connections to these other groups.

Centro Democratico was the biggest challenger to Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s left-wing coalition Pacto Historico in the March elections, securing 17 seats in the Senate, up from 13 in 2022, and a majority of 32 seats in the House of Representatives, double the 16 it won in the previous elections.

In response to Bellingcat’s queries, Centro Democratico National Director Gabriel Vallejo said the party was unaware of any proven links between Rodriguez and far-right, neo-Nazi, or extremist groups. 

Vallejo said that the Party’s candidates retain the right to exercise their freedom of expression and define their ideological affinities within the limits of the Constitution and the law. 

However, Vallejo said that Centro Democratico does not support or endorse any type of link with organisations or movements that incite hate speech, violence or the glorification of crime. 

“The Party maintains a firm stance in defence of the Constitution, the law, democratic institutions, and respect for human dignity, as well as in the protection of the public interest and fundamental rights,” he said. “In this regard, any conduct that contravenes these principles is contrary to the Party’s guidelines and will be subject to the corresponding actions in accordance with the Statutes and applicable regulations.”

Tattoo Identifications

In Rodriguez’s Feb. 26 video, the former political candidate can be clearly seen. However, several others had their identities obscured, with one particular individual being completely pixelated from head to toe in almost every frame he appeared in, even where only part of his arm was visible. 

But thanks to a few frames where parts of the individual’s arms or hands are briefly unpixelated, or where colouration shows through the pixelation, Bellingcat was able to match the person shown in the video to a prominent Active Club Bogota member and possible leader – an individual who goes by Javier or “Orlik” Ruiz – who Rodriguez follows on Instagram and vice versa. 

Between April and May 2024, the first few weeks after Active Club Bogota’s Telegram channel was set up, eight posts listed an author who went by “Orlik Ruiz”. 

Bellingcat searched online for social media accounts and information related to “Orlik Ruiz” and quickly found numerous public social media accounts that appear to belong to the same individual, with posts showing photos of his face and tattoos. Several of these accounts used the name Javier Ruiz. These accounts included a YouTube account featuring 2022 video clips showing Ruiz and other men at a shooting range, holding what appear to be automatic rifles.

In most of these social media accounts, Ruiz posted numerous photos exposing his face and, more frequently, his tattoos from multiple angles, allowing Bellingcat to confirm that the same individual appears in the vast majority of Active Club Bogota’s online content.

Active Club Bogota’s Telegram channel listed an account with the name “Javi” as the group’s main contact. There were more than 30 posts on this account’s own profile page, and though the face of the person shown in the photos posted from this account was obscured, the matching tattoos in many of these posts all pointed to the same person.

Ruiz’s tattoos had several distinctive features that appeared across multiple photos. The backs of both of his hands are tattooed up to the base knuckles. He also has an arrow tattoo on his left middle finger, pointing down towards the base knuckle, and a red design that circles his left wrist. 

These match several features of tattoos on the individual’s left hand that can be made out despite the pixelation, including what appears to be red colouration on the individual’s wrist, heavy dark hand tattooing, and also discolouration on the left middle finger, suggesting tattoos on that finger.

While blurred footage alone is not enough to confirm matching tattoos, several other significantly more detailed and clearer comparisons could be made. 

In one frame, a very similar arrow to that seen in photos of Ruiz appears on the left middle finger of the individual shown in the video.

In addition, there are gaps in the tattoos and a rounded shape visible on his left arm that are consistent in position with photos of Ruiz’s tattoos.

There are also several frames in the video where the individual’s right hand is visible. These unpixelated, although still blurry, frames show the individual has heavy tattooing on their right hand that forms a curved shape between their knuckles. This is consistent with the shape of the tattoos on the right hand of Active Club Bogota’s Ruiz as seen in photos posted on the group’s Telegram channel and on social media.

Another frame shows a small red tattoo visible on the middle-right finger as well as a detail between the index finger and right pinky. This matches with other, clearer images of Ruiz’s tattoos visible on his private Instagram.

Furthermore, in several frames of the video, the pixelated individual’s upper-right arm is visible, showing red colouration that is consistent in size and shape with images of Ruiz’s tattooed right arm.

Promoting Fascist Ideas in the Region

The first sign we could find online of Active Club Bogota’s appearance on the city’s neo-Nazi scene was in early 2024, when its official Telegram channel was created. 

The official Active Club website that Rundo, the American founder of the Active Club movement, has openly promoted in several podcasts features a map of “official” Active Clubs around the world. As of the time of publication, Active Club Bogota is the only one in South America on the map.

But social media posts from Active Club Bogota suggest that the Colombia-based group has been attempting to promote the development of other Active Clubs in Latin America, with mixed results.

In September 2025, Active Club Bogota promoted a new Active Club in Brazil, boasting that “our brothers … have also taken a big step forward.” 

This Brazilian Active Club Telegram channel no longer exists as of February 2026. 

Also in September 2025, Active Club Bogota promoted the Telegram channel of a new Active Club in Argentina, which they referred to as “our Argentinian friends”. This Telegram channel, like the Brazilian Active Club Telegram channel, no longer exists as of February 2026.

In December 2025, Active Club Bogota promoted the Telegram channel of another new Active Club based in Mexico City, which the Colombian channel referred to as “our Mexican brothers, who are joining this great movement that seeks to reclaim our identity and heritage”.

Beirich, the co-founder of GPAHE, said that Active Clubs are a concerted effort to market the far right to a new generation of young people. 

“Active Clubs can and do serve as a bridge between older generations of neo-Nazis and the current wave of youth engaging with the movement,” she said.

“Groups like the one in Bogota are hyper-local enterprises that also connect its members to a transnational extremist network of other Active Clubs and white supremacist groups that share a similar worldview,” she added.

Ritzmann, from CEP, also said that the threat posed by the group should not only be measured by its size. “Even a small local chapter can function as a recruitment hub, a training environment, and a bridge into wider transnational extremist networks,” he said.

International Connections

Our identification of Ruiz also led to evidence of links between Active Club Bogota and international neo-Nazi networks Blood & Honour and Combat 18.

In a May 2024 photo posted on his public Telegram account, a man whose face is covered by a cloth mask and further obscured with a digital image was pictured standing next to two neo-Nazi musicians who were in Bogota to perform at a concert that Ruiz had promoted on his Telegram account. One of the musicians is British neo-Nazi Ken McLellan, who has long been associated with Blood & Honour. 

The tattoos on the lower left leg and right hand of the man whose face was obscured appear to be the same as Ruiz’s – matching the shape, colour and position – based on photos publicly posted on Active Club Bogota’s Telegram channel.

Blood & Honour is an international neo-Nazi network founded in the United Kingdom in 1987; McLellan and his band were present at this founding meeting and still regularly perform at Blood & Honour-affiliated concerts. Blood & Honour’s affiliate group Combat 18, described as the “armed branch” of Blood & Honour, was founded in 1992. 

Members and associates of Blood & Honour and Combat 18 have been accused of crimes including possessing explosives and drug trafficking. Individuals associated with both groups have been convicted of crimes including attempted murder, murder and terrorism. Both groups have been designated terrorist organisations in Canada since 2019 and have been subject to financial counter-terrorism sanctions in the United Kingdom since January 2025. 

A Colombia-based neo-Nazi fashion retailer that sells t-shirts with Combat 18 symbolism and branding also lists Ruiz as the main contact on its Telegram channel (Bellingcat is not naming the retailer to avoid amplification). 

On its WhatsApp Business account, this retailer advertises neo-Nazi clothing and paraphernalia, including content with Combat 18’s name, symbolism and branding, as well as content promoting bands with documented links to Combat 18. Active Club Bogota has also promoted this retailer on its own Telegram channel. After reaching out to Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, a spokesperson told Bellingcat that “this account breaks our terms of service and we have banned it”. As of publication, the WhatsApp Business account has been blocked.

After a series of arrests of alleged members in Spain in October 2023, Spanish authorities publicly called Combat 18 an “international criminal organisation” and claimed the Spanish wing of the group has relations with Combat 18 members in South America. 

Spanish media outlet El Periodico further reported that this police operation against Combat 18 in October 2023, according to their sources, “was mounted to pursue organised crime and other related offences, including drug trafficking”. 

Bellingcat established another link between the two groups through another individual associated with Active Club Bogota. 

In a 2015 post on one of Ruiz’s public Facebook accounts, an individual (in red below) who at the time was a bassist with a neo-Nazi band that sang songs praising and promoting Combat 18, is visible with a black tattoo on his left bicep.

Almost a decade later, in January 2025, Active Club Bogota posted a video that featured an individual with a tattoo that appeared to be in the same shape and placement.

The bassist’s name was mentioned in two posts by Juan de Dios Osuna Montanez, the alleged leader of Combat 18 in Spain, on Instagram in May 2024. 

Both posts featured a photo of what Montanez described as “little gifts directly from Colombia,” with Montanez thanking an account under this individual’s name, calling him his “brother.” These posts occurred during the same time period during which Active Club Bogota posted content from Catalonia, in northeastern Spain.

The photos Montanez posted of the apparent gifts are nearly identical, with the only difference being that the second photo is more zoomed in than the first. The photo shows a sticker with Active Club Bogota’s logo and branding, a t-shirt reading “Blood & Honour Colombia Division,” a sticker featuring both Blood & Honour and Combat 18’s logo, as well as packages of candy and coffee that Bellingcat was able to identify as being from small Colombian brands. 

Montanez did not respond to Bellingcat’s request for comment via Instagram and Facebook, but we were blocked by his Instagram account after we reached out. We were unable to find any other public contact information for Montanez.

Ritzmann of CEP said that Active Club Bogota’s repeated display of the Combat 18 flag on its Telegram channel signals identification with one of the most explicitly militant neo-Nazi traditions in Europe.

He added that while some Active Clubs avoid overtly antisemitic references to avoid scrutiny by law enforcement, reduce negative media attention and attract new recruits without frightening them away, Active Club Bogota “appears to sit at the more explicit edge of the Active Club strategy” with its open celebration of Hitler’s birthday and its antisemitic messaging. 

“The network wants to appear harmless enough to avoid scrutiny, but radical enough to attract militants. Active Club Bogota is an example of how that balance can shift toward overt neo-Nazi mobilisation while still remaining inside the wider transnational Active Club ecosystem,” he said.

Full Response from Jorge Rodriguez to Bellingcat’s Queries

[April 24, 2026]

Translated to English
“In response to your questions, I would like to inform you that I am not obligated to respond to any interview or request without a court order. Therefore, I will not respond to any interviews. Furthermore, should you decide to use my name or image, I wish to state that I DO NOT AUTHORISE THE USE OF MY NAME, SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS OR ANY RELATED CONTENT.

Likewise, if you use my image or name, it constitutes a violation of my fundamental rights to privacy, reputation, habeas data, and the right to my own image, the latter of which has been repeatedly recognised and protected by the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court.

The unauthorised use of my image or name may constitute a punishable offence, and I will be authorised to initiate the corresponding legal actions to restore my rights.

Sincerely,

Jorge Rodríguez”

In Spanish (Original)

“De conformidad con sus preguntas, me permito indicarle que no estoy obligado a responder ninguna entrevista o requerimiento sin que medie orden judicial. Por lo anterior, no responderé ninguna entrevista, asimismo, en caso de que ustedes decidan utilizar mi nombre o imagen me permito indicar que NO AUTORIZO LA UTILIZACIÓN DE MI NOMBRE O IMAGEN, REDES SOCIALES Y DEMÁS.

De igual manera, si ustedes utilizan mi imagen o nombre es una transgresión de mis derechos fundamentales a la intimidad, al buen nombre, al habeas data y al derecho a la propia imagen, este último reconocido y protegido de manera reiterada por la jurisprudencia de la Corte Constitucional.

Incluso la utilización de imagen o nombre sin autorización puede constituir una conducta punible y estaré autorizado de iniciar las acciones legales correspondientes en aras del restablecimiento de mis derechos.

Cordialmente,

Jorge Rodríguez”

First Response from Javier Ruiz to Bellingcat’s Queries

[April 21, 2026]

Translated to English
“As the data subject of the aforementioned personal data, I hereby submit this formal request regarding the use of my name, image, and background information in an interview request, without my prior, express, and informed consent.

The described conduct constitutes a potential violation of my fundamental rights to privacy, reputation, habeas data, and the right to my own image, the latter repeatedly recognised and protected by the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court.

Likewise, the processing of my personal data without authorisation contravenes the provisions of Law 1581 of 2012 and its implementing decrees and could constitute the offence of personal data violation under Article 269F of the Colombian Penal Code.

Therefore, through this document, I expressly and immediately request:

– The suspension of any use, processing, circulation, or dissemination of my name, image, and other personal data.

– The permanent deletion of any content, file, record or publication in which my personal information has been used without my authorisation.

– A precise indication of the origin of the information, the purposes of its processing, and the third parties with whom it has been shared.

For the purposes of the foregoing, I grant a maximum period of forty-eight (48) hours from the receipt of this communication to demonstrate compliance with the requirement.

In case of non-compliance, I will be obligated to initiate the corresponding legal actions, including filing a writ of protection for the violation of my fundamental rights, as well as administrative proceedings before the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce and any applicable criminal actions.

This communication is understood as a formal prior request.

Sincerely,

J.R.”

In Spanish (Original)

“En mi calidad de titular de los datos personales referidos, me permito formular el presente requerimiento formal en relación con el uso de mi nombre, imagen y antecedentes dentro de una solicitud de entrevista, sin que medie autorización previa, expresa e informada de mi parte.

La conducta descrita constituye una posible vulneración de mis derechos fundamentales a la intimidad, al buen nombre, al habeas data y al derecho a la propia imagen, este último reconocido y protegido de manera reiterada por la jurisprudencia de la Corte Constitucional.

De igual forma, el tratamiento de mis datos personales sin autorización contraviene lo dispuesto en la Ley 1581 de 2012 y sus decretos reglamentarios, y podría adecuarse a la conducta tipificada como violación de datos personales conforme al artículo 269F del Código Penal Colombiano.

En virtud de lo anterior, por medio del presente escrito requiero de manera expresa e inmediata:

– La suspensión de cualquier uso, tratamiento, circulación o difusión de mi nombre, imagen y demás datos personales.

– La eliminación definitiva de cualquier contenido, archivo, registro o publicación en la que se haya hecho uso de los mismos sin mi autorización.

– La indicación precisa del origen de la información, las finalidades del tratamiento y los terceros con quienes haya sido compartida.

Para efectos de lo anterior, otorgo un plazo máximo de cuarenta y ocho (48) horas contadas a partir de la recepción de la presente comunicación, a fin de que se acredite el cumplimiento de lo requerido.

En caso de incumplimiento, me veré en la obligación de iniciar las acciones legales correspondientes, incluyendo la interposición de acción de tutela por la vulneración de mis derechos fundamentales, así como las actuaciones administrativas ante la Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio y las acciones penales a que haya lugar.La presente comunicación se entiende como requerimiento previo formal.

Cordialmente,

J.R.”

Second Response from Javier Ruiz to Bellingcat’s Queries

[May 7, 2026]

In English

“SUBJECT: FORMAL REQUEST FOR CESSATION AND WITHDRAWAL – NOTIFICATION OF VIOLATION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DATA PROTECTION REGIME (LAW 1581 OF 2012)

In my capacity as a fully identified [Colombian] citizen and exercising my legal rights as the owner of personal data, I hereby submit this prior and peremptory request based on the following factual and legal grounds:

1. Lack of Consent and Legal Basis:

The unauthorised use of my name, image, and biographical information has been established within the framework of your informational activities. I declare that there has been no prior, express, informed, or qualified authorisation for the processing of said data, contravening the principle of legality and purpose established in Article 4 of Law 1581 of 2012.

2. Autonomy of the Right to One’s Own Image (Judgment T-040 of 2013): I hereby notify you that, in accordance with the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court in its Judgment T-040 of 2013, the right to one’s own image is an autonomous and independent right. Therefore, the capture, use, or dissemination of my image and name requires my express consent, and journalistic practice does not grant an open licence for its exploitation without prior authorisation, especially when there is no public interest that proportionally justifies it.

3. Violation of Fundamental Rights:

Your actions constitute an arbitrary interference that affects my right to Habeas Data, my right to a good name (Art. 15 of the Colombian Penal Code), and, specifically, my right to my own image. According to the jurisprudence of the Honourable Constitutional Court, the use of a person’s image without their consent constitutes an overreach of journalistic practice that is not protected by freedom of information when it affects the private sphere.

4. Criminal and Administrative Liability: I hereby warn you that the processing of personal data without proper authorisation could constitute the conduct defined in Article 269F of the Colombian Penal Code (Violation of Personal Data), in addition to the fines imposed by the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC) for non-compliance with data protection regulations. 

LEGAL CLAIMS:

• IMMEDIATE CESSATION: The suspension of any act of processing, restricted circulation, or dissemination of my identity, image, or sensitive data.

• PERMANENT DELETION: The removal of any record from your databases or digital platforms containing information whose collection has not been authorised.

• TRACEABILITY REPORT: Submission of certification detailing the origin of my data and the identification of third parties to whom it has been transferred or transmitted.

TERM AND WARNING: You have a non-extendable term of forty-eight (48) hours to demonstrate compliance with the requests made herein. Silence or a negative response will authorise the initiation of a tutela action for the immediate protection of my fundamental rights, as well as the corresponding Administrative Complaint before the Office of the Superintendent Delegate for the Protection of Personal Data of the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC) and criminal proceedings before the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia.

1) Freedom of expression cannot infringe upon the right to privacy and honour.

2) The right to receive information, or rather, to inform, cannot supersede the duty not to disseminate defamatory information about a person or organisation.

3) A request for information from an independent, foreign media outlet cannot be based on erroneous presumptions regarding rulings, orders, and precedents pertaining to the Colombian judicial system. I thank you in advance for your attention, but I wish to clarify that I do not desire any response, understanding that you are complying with the order I have given and established.”

In Spanish (Original)

“ASUNTO: REQUERIMIENTO FORMAL DE CESE Y DESISTIMIENTO – NOTIFICACIÓN DE VULNERACIÓN DE DERECHOS FUNDAMENTALES Y RÉGIMEN DE PROTECCIÓN DE DATOS (LEY 1581 DE 2012)

En mi condición de ciudadano(a) plenamente identificado(a) y en ejercicio de mis facultades legales como titular de datos personales, presento ante ustedes este requerimiento previo y perentorio con base en los siguientes fundamentos de hecho y de derecho:

1. Ausencia de Consentimiento y Base Legal:

Se ha evidenciado el uso no autorizado de mi nombre, imagen y antecedentes biográficos en el marco de su actividad informativa. Manifiesto que no ha mediado autorización previa, expresa, informada ni calificada para el tratamiento de dichos datos, contraviniendo el principio de legalidad y finalidad establecido en el Artículo 4 de la Ley 1581 de 2012.

2. Autonomía del Derecho a la Propia Imagen (Sentencia T-040 de 2013):

Les notifico que, conforme a la jurisprudencia de la Corte Constitucional en su Sentencia T-040 de 2013, el derecho a la propia imagen es un derecho autónomo e independiente. Por tanto, la captura, uso o difusión de mi imagen y nombre requiere de mi consentimiento expreso, sin que el ejercicio periodístico otorgue una licencia abierta para su explotación sin autorización previa, especialmente cuando no existe un interés público que lo justifique de manera proporcional.

3. Vulneración de Derechos de Carácter Fundamental:

Su actuación constituye una injerencia arbitraria que afecta mi derecho al Habeas Data, al Buen Nombre (Art. 15 C.P.) y, de manera específica, al Derecho a la Propia Imagen. Según la jurisprudencia de la Honorable Corte Constitucional, el uso de la imagen de una persona sin su anuencia es una extralimitación del ejercicio periodístico que no encuentra amparo en la libertad de información cuando se afecta la esfera privada.

4. Responsabilidad Penal y Administrativa:

Les advierto que el tratamiento de datos personales sin la debida autorización podría configurar la conducta tipificada en el Artículo 269F del Código Penal Colombiano (Violación de datos personales), además de las sanciones pecuniarias que la Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC) impone por el incumplimiento del régimen de protección de datos.

PRETENSIONES LEGALES:

• CESE INMEDIATO: La suspensión de cualquier acto de tratamiento, circulación restringida o difusión de mi identidad, imagen o datos sensibles.

• SUPRESIÓN DEFINITIVA: La eliminación de cualquier registro en sus bases de datos o plataformas digitales que contenga información cuya recolección no haya sido autorizada.

• INFORME DE TRAZABILIDAD: Remitir certificación detallando el origen de mis datos y la identificación de terceros a quienes les hayan sido transferidos o transmitidos.

TÉRMINO Y ADVERTENCIA:

Cuentan con un término improrrogable de cuarenta y ocho (48) horas para acreditar el cumplimiento de lo aquí solicitado. El silencio o la respuesta negativa facultará el inicio de la Acción de Tutela para la protección inmediata de mis derechos fundamentales, así como la respectiva Denuncia Administrativa ante la Delegatura para la Protección de Datos Personales de la SIC y las acciones penales ante la Fiscalía General de la Nación.

1) La libertad de expresión no puede coartar el derecho a la privacidad y a la honra. 

2)El derecho a recibir información o más bien; a informar no puede supeditar el deber de no difundir información calumniosa sobre una persona u organización 

3) Un requerimiento de información por un medio independiente y extranjero no puede basarse en presunciones erróneas sobre sentencias, órdenes y antecedentes correspondientes al sistema judicial colombiano

De ante mano agradezco la atención prestada, sin antes aclarar que no deseo respuesta alguna, teniendo claro que acatan la orden dada y establecida de mi parte.”

---

Carlos Gonzales and Pooja Chaudhuri contributed research to this piece.

Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here. You can also subscribe to our Patreon channel here. Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on Bluesky here, Instagram here, Reddit here and YouTube here.

The post Unearthing a Colombian Politician’s Connections to Neo-Nazi Active Club Group appeared first on bellingcat.