Activists warn of a wave of violence in the Valle del Cauca region where eight people were killed in the last week.
Colombian human rights defenders on Monday reported the murder of Carlos Vidal, who was president of the Castilla Harvest Workers Union (Sintracos) in the Valle del Cauca department.
RELATED:
Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal Tries State Terrorism in Colombia
Vidal was a well-known union leader in the Florida municipality. Hired killers attacked him and shot him dead near his home.
"We protest such a cowardly murder and express solidarity with his family and colleagues. Rest in peace," community groups said.
Police investigate the events as there is no information about the motive of the crime or possible perpetrators.
In 2020, Colombia saw more attacks against healthcare than it did in any other years since data collection started 24 years ago.
— Maciej Polkowski - Health Care in Danger (@MPolkowskiHCiD) March 26, 2021
32% of the attacks were related to Covid-19 response.
This confirms our global analysis of the impact that the pandemic has had. https://t.co/zmIofn5Lba
The Institute for Development and Peace Studies (INDEPAZ) warned that Vidal is the 38th social leader killed so far this year.
The Valle's Progressive Generation group also lamented Vidal's murder while urging Colombia's President Ivan Duque to address the "wave of violence" affecting the region in the last few weeks.
On March 27, the "Los Flacos" gang murdered four people in the Cartago municipality in northern Valle, and at least three people were also killed in Villacolombia located in Jamundi.
#Colombia | The mass graves were found in the Narino Department. pic.twitter.com/syUtxyD0nJ
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) February 3, 2021