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Violence against social leaders in Colombia

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2026-09-02 04:31 UTC → 2026-09-06 22:54 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Violence against indigenous and social leaders has persisted in Colombia, particularly within the Cauca region. In early August, an armed attack in Florida, Valle del Cauca, killed four people, including Kwesx Yu Kiwe, the governor of the Nasa indigenous reserve, human rights defender Julián Mauricio Gutiérrez Grajales, and two security personnel from the National Protection Unit. By late August, further assassinations occurred in La Pedregosa, Cajibío, ~~Cauca,~~ where social leaders James Flor and María Ovidia Palechor were killed in their home. Armed individuals reportedly entered the residence and fired indiscriminately at the couple. Palechor served as a coordinator for the Women’s and Human Rights programs of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC), while Flor was a member of the Victims’ Table. The Unidad para las Víctimas condemned the killings, noting that Palechor had previously worked with their psychosocial approach program. According to the NGO Indepaz, these ~~killings bring~~ deaths brought the national death toll of community leaders to 103 this year, averaging one death every 2.3 days. Authorities and the Ombudsman’s Office have previously cited high human rights risks in the Cajibío region due to territorial control exerted by the Jaime Martínez Front, a dissident armed group.

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