Colombia: Assassinations of Social Leaders Climb To 286 This Year

Joaquin Antonio Ramirez became the latest victim of unlawful killing in Colombia where the number of social leaders assassinated has climbed to 286 so far this year. 

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Ramirez, who was killed Sunday night by unknown assailants in Buenaventura town in the Cauca department, was a member of the Cauca's Peaceful Community Council "Cimarrones".

Since the signing of the Peace Accord between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government in 2016, at least 1,054 leaders have been killed in the country.

Over the last year, Colombian human rights organizations have recorded 340 people murdered in 79 massacres.

The departments with the highest number of massacres were Antioquia (18) and Cauca (13).

The Institute for Peace and Development Studies (Indepaz) pointed out that neither the 39 early warnings issued by the Ombudsman's Office since 2018 nor the presence of 7,500 security officers has been sufficient to stop the violence in the Cauca department where 90 human rights defenders have lost their life.

"We are doubling the figures recorded last year, ex-combatants' deaths already reached 60 in the case of ex-Farc combatants. Social leaders' deaths are already reaching the same level as of 2018. Amid the pandemic, people are more unprotected," Indepaz President Camilo Gonzalez said.