Human rights concerns rise over police fatalities in Colombia and Dominican Republic

In Colombia, the Defensoría del Pueblo has called for an urgent investigation into the death of Keiner Banguera Mancilla, an Afro-descendant human rights defender. Banguera died on October 2 during a military operation in El Charco, Nariño. While government officials stated that security forces responded to gunfire from a vessel believed to belong to FARC dissidents, local organizations allege that military personnel shot the leader while he was in his own boat. The Defensoría has requested that the Fiscalía General prioritize the case to determine the exact circumstances and ensure transparency from the armed forces.

In the Dominican Republic, controversy surrounds the use of force by the National Police. Critics and opinion pieces have highlighted a high number of deaths resulting from alleged “exchanges of gunfire” involving police, noting that approximately 50 individuals died in September alone. While the National Police maintains there is no official policy to extrajudicially execute suspects and asserts that agents use proportional force, observers have raised concerns regarding the lack of judicial follow-up for these fatal encounters compared to the high volume of outstanding arrest warrants.