43 Massacres in Colombia so Far This Year

Over the weekend, the bodies of three Colombians were found in Medellin, in the Antioquia department, wrapped in plastic bags sealed with tape.

RELATED:

Independent Report Counts 70 Colombians Murdered Since April 28

Medellin Metropolitan Police Commander Pablo Ruiz explained that the first body was found on Saturday night in a suburb of the city.  According to the officer, the other two bodies correspond to two young men found on a highway in the north of the capital of Antioquia.

"With these findings, there are already seven people murdered during June reported local police sources," said the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (INDEPAZ), which recalled that other corpses were also found inside plastic bags in towns of Aburra Valley, Belen, Aranjuez, Bello, and Copacabana.

Previously, the Ombudsman's Office, which is the institution responsible for overseeing human rights, issued 5 alerts, one of which warned about armed paramilitary organizations fighting for control of territories in Medellin.

INDEPAZ explained that this region is being disputed by extreme right-wing groups such as the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), the Aburra Valley Office, the Pachelly, the Chatas, the Mesa, the Niquia Camacol, and the Triana.

With the discovery of these latest bodies, Colombia has 43 massacres during the last semester, which implies an average of one massacre every four days as a consequence of the paramilitary violence that President Ivan Duque's administration does not control.

This weekend, the number of social leaders and human rights defenders killed rose to 76 so far this year. Angel Miro Cartagena, who was intercepted by paramilitaries on June 14 as he was leaving his home, was found dead in the Dabeiba municipality, in the Antioquia department.