The Institute of Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz) reported on Tuesday, May 7, about the tragic murder of Diomira Cifuentes, an influential social leader from Suárez, Cauca. According to the NGO, a group of armed men broke into her home and brutally attacked her, according to information obtained by the Weekly magazine.
Cifuentes, a renowned peasant leader, founder of the Association of Cordillera Workers (Asocordillera) and active in communal action in the Naranjal village, was a victim of this violent act in front of her own family, Indepaz indicated.
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In Suárez, Cauca, it is known that the Jaime Martínez dissident front of the western bloc of the self-proclaimed Central General Staff (EMC) operates, although the authorities are still investigating who is behind the murder of this community leader.
With this unfortunate event, there are now 61 social leaders who have lost their lives violently while defending the rights of their communities, according to Indepaz, which describes these crimes as a form of social control perpetrated by criminal groups in various parts of the country.
So far in May, three social leaders have been killed in Colombia, among them Diomira Cifuentes. During the commemoration of Labor Day, Antonio Montañéz Villazana, social leader and president of the communal action board of Bocas del Arauca, was shot dead by armed men in Arauca.
Four days later, in Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia, Jaider García Uribe, another prominent social leader and activist of the Colombia Humana party in San Luis, was intercepted and murdered by armed men while he was traveling in his vehicle.
The tragedy is not foreign to García’s family, since his son Juan David, also a community leader, had been murdered in similar circumstances three years ago. These events highlight the cruel reality faced by human rights defenders in Colombia, especially those who fight for justice and equity in their communities.
The murder of social leaders does not stop in Colombia, since in 2024 the number rose to 60. This was announced by the Institute of Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz) through a publication on its X account in the who released details of the death of the social leader.
According to the information shared by Indepaz, Jaider García Uribe became the 60th social leader to be murdered in 2024, a death that was recorded in Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia, on May 4, 2024.
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García Uribe worked as a political leader, so he was a member of the Colombia Humana party in San Luis, Antioquia, although it is not the first time that misfortune has come to the family, since his son, Juan Davis García, who also served as leader social, was murdered three years ago.
Regarding the crime of Jaider García Uribe, the authorities confirmed that armed men intercepted him when he was traveling in a vehicle he owned in the company of his brother, while they were traveling on the Medellín-Bogotá highway near the Santiago Berrío district. , municipality of Puerto Triunfo.
According to Indepaz, among the criminal organizations that are present in the area are the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, the Aburra Valley Office and local gangs.
