MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colombia records 33rd murder of a social leader so far in 2022

Rebel groups target social leaders as a sign of power

Less than two months into the year 2022 and 33 social leaders have been murdered so far in Colombia after the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz) Sunday denounced the killing of Gustavo Antonio Torres, this time in Tibú, Norte de Santander.

According to Indepaz, a group of armed men entered the 64-year-old Torres’ home in the village of Tienditas in Tibú and shot him dead on the night of Saturday, February 26.

“Gustavo Torres was a recognized social leader and in 2017, after the formation of the Asociación Caño Indio Productivo, he was forcibly displaced,” Indepaz pointed out.

The Ombudsman's Office confirmed the murder, which it condemned, and praised Torres, whom they described as “a social leader from the Caño Indio village who since 2014 advocated for the rights of his community.”

Torres’ murder is the 33rd this year of a human rights leader in 2022 and 1,319th since the signing of the peace agreement.

The Ombudsman's Office had issued an alert for the presence of illegal armed groups in Tibú, which actively engage in social and armed confrontations for which social leaders are classified as top military targets. The groups operating in Norte de Santander are The National Liberation Army (ELN); The Ratrojos; and the dissidents of the former FARC-EP.

Genocide does not stop in Colombia, where 19 massacres have also been perpetrated this year. Six former combatants included in the Peace Agreement have also lost their lives.