Alba Rocío Riaño Nossa, had been serving as vice president of the Verbenal El Paraiso neighborhood, in Bolívar city.
Photo: Social networks
For nine days, leader Alba Rocío Riaño Nossa debated between life and death, after being the victim of an attack last Sunday, June 16, in the Paraíso sector, Ciudad Bolívar.
According to authorities, Riaño left her house after receiving a call, when she was intercepted by a subject who shot her at least twice, hitting her at head height.
The leader was transferred to the Meissen Hospital, where her prognosis was reserved and her death was reported on the night of Monday, June 24.
READ MORE: The desolate panorama of social leaders in Bogotá
The Bogotá Metropolitan Police and the Attorney General’s Office began investigations to find those responsible for this incident. From the District, they indicated that they were ready to collaborate with the authorities. “We are going to work hand in hand with the authorities, all the entities of the District, so that this does not happen again. In Bogotá we have to say no to violence of any kind,” said Gustavo Quintero Ardila, Secretary of Government.
Her outstanding work as a leader
Alba Rocío Riaño served as vice president of the Community Action Board (JAC), of the Verbena l-El Paraíso neighborhood in the town of Ciudad Bolívar.
Human rights defenders denounced, at that time, that the attack was due to the complaints that, as leaders, they have filed against criminal gangs that commit crimes in the south of the capital. “We do not know who was responsible, but we know that it was due to complaints that we make as leaders and human rights defenders in the town,” added José León, social leader of the town.
Behind the threats are armed groups, such as the Tren de Aragua, and even the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces, as recorded in the signatures of the threatening pamphlets. However, as the Police have pointed out on several occasions, some common criminal gangs supplant other groups with a greater criminal presence to intimidate their victims. On the contrary, the Ombudsman’s Office has issued two alerts about the presence of dissidents from the FARC and the Gulf Clan in towns such as Ciudad Bolívar and Sumapaz.
Last year, six social leaders were murdered in Bogotá, according to the victim report issued by the Ombudsman’s Office.
For more news from the capital and Cundinamarca, visit the Bogotá section of The viewer.
