Colombia: INDEPAZ Denounces the Murder of Another Social Leader

On Thursday, the Colombian Institute for Development and Peace Studies (INDEPAZ) denounced the murder of another social leader in the municipality of Armenia, in the central-western department of Quindio.

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The victim was identified as José Ricaurte Quintero Marín, 56 years old, who was a member of the Maná Survivors Foundation, made up of relatives of missing persons.

INDEPAZ said Quintero was killed in the Patio Bonito Bajo neighborhood, where gunmen attacked him near his place of residence while he was with his son. The 17-year-old was also wounded in the attack.

A total of 187 social leaders have been killed in Colombia so far in 2022, while totaling 1 407 since the signing of the 2016 Peace Accords, according to the Colombian institute. 

Jose Ricaurte Quintero M. 12/21/22 in Armenia, Quindio. He was a community leader and member of the Fundación Survivientes de Maná made up of families of disappeared persons who came together in a collective effort to work for truth, justice and reparation.

The Unit for the Search for Missing Persons (UBPD) rejected the murder of the leader and expressed its solidarity with his family.

The UBPD said via Twitter that "the right to life is the basic requirement for non-repetition. We hope that justice will be guaranteed in the face of these events, and we call on the authorities to take swift action aimed at protecting the Maná Survivors Foundation." 

The Ombudsman's Office had issued an early warning about the actions of armed groups in the region.