Colombia Defense Minister Corrects Social Leaders Homicide Figures

Colombia’s Defense Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sánchez Suárez publicly corrected a previous claim that homicides of social leaders had fallen under President Gustavo Petro’s administration. He acknowledged the statement was inaccurate, noting that the overall number of killings has actually risen compared with the prior period.

The minister clarified that the reported 33 % reduction (from 343 to 229 cases) applies only to homicides and disappearances of former combatants who signed the 2016 peace agreement, not to broader social‑leader murders. He highlighted the results of Operation THEMIS, which between March 2024 and June 2026 issued 300 capture orders against suspected perpetrators of attacks on social leaders and peace‑process signatories.

Independent monitoring groups reported that, as of 25 July 2026, 85 social leaders and human‑rights defenders had been killed in Colombia, with a cumulative total of 1,891 homicides from 2016 to the end of 2025. The Defensoría del Pueblo recorded 67 murders between January and May 2026, with the departments of Cauca, Antioquia and Arauca most affected.