Guachené massacre kills three in Cauca, Colombia

On Friday 26 June, police responded to a report of gunshots at a house in the Guabal vereda of Guachené municipality, Cauca. They found three victims dead – mechanic Juan Hoyos, Juan Narváez and a woman identified as Yesica – and one man, 33‑year‑old Manuel Fernando Quiroz Alvear, injured and taken to the municipal hospital in Puerto Tejada.

Local authorities noted the incident as part of a wave of violence, with the Instituto de Estudios para el Desarrollo y la Paz (Indepaz) recording 67 massacres in Colombia so far this year. Armed groups operating in the area include the “Jaime Martínez” and “Dagoberto Ramos” fronts of the Bloc Occidental “Jacobo Arenas”, as well as factions linked to alias Iván Mordisco and the ELN. Guachené’s secretary of government, Jaime Repiso, condemned the killing and urged national and departmental governments to act to restore peace.

The massacre underscores ongoing security challenges in the Cauca region, where communities live under pressure from multiple armed actors.