CISPES mourns the passing of compañero Reverend Lucius Walker, life-long solidarityactivist and founder of Interreligious Foundation for Community Organizing (IFCO) and Pastors for Peace. For over 25 years, IFCO/Pastors for Peace has delivered caravans of humanitarian aid to El Salvador,Nicaragua, Guatemala, Chiapas and Cubato counter the effects of unjust U.S. foreign policy. The projectwas founded after Rev. Walker and his daughter Gail, along with 200 civilians, were viciously attacked by the Contras in Nicaragua in 1988; two Nicaraguans died and 49 passengers were wounded.

Reverend Walker, who passed away at the age of 80, embodiedthe spirit of international solidarity, putting his body on the line to crossborders that have been criminalized by cold-war policy in Central America andthe Caribbean, including the embargo against Cuba. IFCO has been instrumental inbuilding international support and participation in the Latin American Schoolof Medicine in Cuba, the graduatesof which now span the globe to provide community-based medical care tounderserved communities, including in El Salvador. As Blase Bonpane,co-founder of the office of the Americasin Los Angeles,wrote in a good-bye letter to Reverend Walker, “We rejoice in each and every memory of your heroicleadership… The tangible love of the people you served wascontagious.”CISPES joinsin the celebration of the life, spirit and revolutionary commitment of ReverendWalker, and we hope to inspire future generation of solidarity activists tofollow in his footsteps! ¡Lucius Walker, presente!

 For more tributes to Reverend Walker, please read:

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  “We do not want to think of a world without Lucius Walker” English translation of the from the Granma newspaper in Cuba (for an article in Spanish, click here)

• Interreligious Foundation for Community Organizing: http://www.ifconews.org/