The US meanwhile is coming under criticism for blocking the visa application of a leading Colombian activist to come to the United States. The group Human Rights First has been planning on honoring Gabriel Gonzalez with its 2009 award at a New York ceremony later this month. But the US has held up Gonzalez’s visa based on charges he faces in Colombia. Gonzalez is coordinator of the Political Prisoners Solidarity Committee in Colombia, where he promotes the rights of prisoners jailed in Colombia’s internal conflict. The US is blocking Gonzalez’s entry even though the State Department has joined the UN in questioning the charges he faces in Colombia as politically motivated and baseless.