NewsLatin AmericaAn indigenous social leader assassinated in the Colombian Pacific

An indigenous social leader assassinated in the Colombian Pacific

Archive – Archive image of protests for the assassination of social leaders in Colombia – DANIEL ROMERO / VWPICS / ZUMA PRESS / CONTACTOPHOT

The coordinator of the Indigenous Guard in the reservation of the municipality of Sorata, Cauca, in the Colombian Pacific, Ariel Danilo Majin, has been assassinated in what is the first death of a Colombian social leader in the month of December after eleven homicides during the last month.

Majin had been missing since November 24. On December 2, his lifeless body was found in the rural area of ​​the municipality of Policarpa, in the north of Narino, the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz) has reported.

The deceased was the coordinator of the Tulpaz council, which is part of the Rio Blanco reservation. The last time he was seen alive, he had told his relatives that he was going to Policarpa in search of work and until before noon on the day of his disappearance he was seen passing through the Tarabita sector, the Cauca Regional Indigenous Council has reported. (CRIC).

“We call on the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the facts and justice is done. Defending life and territory should not cost us our lives. We alert organizations that defend Human Rights and the National Government to take measures to safeguard and protect the integrity of ancestral communities in the department of Cauca and Colombia”, pointed out Aida Quilcue, senator from the MAIS party (Movimento Alternativo Indigena Social).

This is the second social leader murdered in Narino in the last week, after the murder of journalist Wilder Alfredo Cordoba, director of the private channel La Union TV in the department of Narino. Cordoba was assassinated by hitmen on the afternoon of Monday, November 28, according to the regional digital outlet Popayan Denuncia.

Indepaz has reported 179 murders of social leaders during the year 2022, which represents an increase compared to the previous year, in which 161 deaths were reported in the same period. It has also accounted for 90 massacres so far this year, 28 of them since Gustavo Petro became president of Colombia.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Posts

Read More
More