The end of 2025 saw violence continue in various parts of Colombia, with trade unionists, indigenous leaders and former FARC guerrillas among the victims. Ongoing instability in Colombia emphasises the importance of advancing government peace talks with armed groups whose activities have fuelled violence.
Here is JFC’s monthly update for December 2025 on the human rights situation in Colombia.
N.B. This article does not provide a definitive list of all human rights violations committed in Colombia. Various others are likely to have been committed during the period.
2 December – Rural activist and peasant farmer Darlis Arcia was murdered in El Roble, department of Sucre. She was attacked by armed men who approached her on a motorbike and opened fire. She is the second woman activist murdered in three days, following the death of indigenous educator Elizabeth Mojica Nieves in Riohacha, La Guajira, on 30 November.
9 December – In San Vicente del Caguán, department of Caquetá, armed assailants murdered social activist Victor Cerquera, who was legal representative of the JAC community council in the district of Villa Palestro. He is the 182nd activist murdered in 2025, according to the INDEPAZ human rights NGO.
10 December – Former FARC member Danny Leandro Holguín Vidales died in prison from an injury sustained when he was shot in the head last August. The attack was carried out in Vistahermosa, department of Meta, where Danny was transitioning to civilian life under the terms of the 2016 peace agreement. The assailant was a minor whose motive remains unclear. Danny spent four months in a Medellin hospital before succumbing to his injuries.
12 December – A Wayuu indigenous community leader, Luis Misael Socarrás, survived an attack in which his bodyguard Danilo Bustos was injured, which took place in Maicao, La Guajira department. Luis Misael works with social organisations including the Force of Wayuu Women to defend community rights around clean water, territory and social conditions. He has also campaigned over the devastating impact on the Wayuu population of intensive mining projects in La Guajira, including the Cerrejon coal mine, the largest open pit mine in Latin America. The Force of Wayuu Women called o authorities to identify the culprits and guarantee Luis Misael’s security, as well as that of other indigenous activists.
16 December – Human rights groups warned of an extreme humanitarian situation in the town of Buenos Aires, Cauca. They warned that an armed group had occupied the town centre, where fighting with police was having a major impact on residents. There had been several explosions, including through use of drones, while some residents had received threats and been forced from their homes.
16 December – Trade unionist and educator Campo Elías Urrutía Vargas was killed in Tauramena, department of Casanare. He belonged to the FEDERARROZ trade union for rice farmers and was a member of the national executive of the Aguazul Committee of Rice Farmers.
16 December – Social activist Pablo José Almanza Cañate was murdered in Soledad, department of Atlántico, where he was a member of the JAC community council in the Villa Sol district. The 72-year-old was attacked outside his home.
20 December – Armed assailants attacked a car travelling through Río de Oro, Cesar, killing Anderson Rocha Núñez, his partner Yeraldin García and their 12-year-old daughter, Kendry Melissa. Their four-year-old child survived.
22 December – Rural activist Jairo Alberto Díaz Salazar was found dead in San Pablo, Bolivar department, the day after he was abducted in the area. He belonged to the JAC community council in the district of El Jardín. He was also a member of Miners Committee of Las Calungas and the peasant farmers’ organisation ASAMISUR.
26 December – Wiwa indigenous activist José Miguel Mojica Conchangui was murdered in Riohacha, La Guajira department. He was attacked in front of his family at a Christmas celebration.
26 December – In Arboles, Antioquia, armed assailants murdered social activist Pablo Flórez Narváez. Relatives found him injured inside his home and he died soon afterwards.