Another month of violence in various regions resulted in the killings of several social activists. Victims indluded community leaders, an independent journalist and the general secretary of the transport workers union, SINTRAL. Pro-peace campaigners continue advocating for the advance of peace talks, as well as implementation of the 2016 peace agreement as vital to reducing insecurity, which is most felt in regions where armed groups are competing to control territory and illicit economies.
Here is JFC’s monthly update for November 2024 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.
1 November – Social leader Alveiro Caicedo Barragán was murdered in Tame, a town in Colombia’s eastern Arauca department. Alveiro was president for the JAC community council in the district of Alto Cabalalía and a human rights coordinator for the association of JAC councils (ASOJUNTAS) in Tame. Threats over Alveiro’s human rights work had previously forced him to leave Tame for an extended period, before his recent return to the area. According to INDEPAZ, it is the 150th killing of a social activist in 2024.
3 November – Armed assailants murdered Darwin Falla Teteye, an indigenous traditional educator, in Solano, department of Caquetá. He taught at the Fortunato College in the community of Puerto Sábalo Los Monos.
5 November – Nasa indigenous guard and community educator José Emanuel Oca Cuspián was murdered in Inzá, department of Cauca, the most violent region in Colombia in terms of killings of activists. Indigenous communities continue to be particularly impacted, with the United Nations, among others, having warned of the threat to local populations. José Emanuel was attacked at around 6.30am in the district of Lomitas.
5 November – Trade unionist William Molina was killed in Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, where he was general secretary of the SINTRAL union for low-paid transport workers. William worked tirelessly to formalise SINTRAL members’ employment status and had organised protests to demand fairer terms and conditions. William was attacked shortly after leaving a union meeting, where he had been leading a workers’ campaign at transport company Asopotrans. In a statement, the CUT trade federation said that he ‘carried out a valiant fight for transport workers … in favour of the right to work and in defence of the family life of thousands of Colombians ruined by the establishment of mass transportation systems that monopolise an essential public service.’
5 November – In the day’s third killing of a social activist, armed assailants abducted Jimmy Alejandro Rosero Chávez from a community meeting before murdering him soon afterwards. The attack was carried out in Cambitara, department of Nariño in southwest Colombia, where Jimmy represented local conflict victims and promoted human rights initiatives. He was also affiliated to the National Ombudsman’s Office.
6 November – The extremely high levels of violence against members of JAC community councils continued with the murder of Rodolfo Enrique Rivera Tarazona in the city of Barrancabermeja in Santander department. Rodolfo was JAC vice-president for the La Bendición de Díos district. He was taken to hospital after being attacked but died soon after arrival.
7 November – In San Juan, department of Chocó, fighting between armed groups caught several people in the crossfire, including members of human rights group the Inter-ethnic Solidarity Forum (FISCH). They were in the zone to host a workshop, led by FISCH coordinator Elizabeth Moreno Barco, on strengthening women’s rights and political participation. Although they were forced to take refuge from gunfire, nobody was seriously hurt in the incident.
9 November – After several weeks in hospital, including a period in intensive care in Bogota, social activist José Luis Hernández succumbed to injuries sustained in an attack on 26 September in Yopal, Casanare. He was affiliated to the Casanare division of ASOJUNTAS, the national association of JAC councils.
10 November – Former FARC guerrilla Julio Cesar Betancurt Medina was killed in Corinto, Cauca. His body was discovered at around 11am, one hour after he had been abducted by unknown assailants. INDEPAZ said he is the 27th former FARC member in the peace process to be murdered in 2024.
10 November – The National Ombudsman’s Office reported the abduction of Victims’ representative Gloria Carrillo in Fortul, Arauca, and called for her safe release.
15 November – Four people were found dead with signs of violence in Riohacha, department of La Guajira. It is the 63rd massacre of 2024.
15 November – Social activist Manuel Moya Villarreal was killed in El Banco, Magdalena. He was JAC community council president for the district of El Trebol.
17 November – The family home of Giovani Yule, director of the Land Restitution Unit (URT), was badly damaged in an early-morning arson attack in Caloto, Cauca. The URT is the government body responsible for the legal return of land to displaced communities. Giovani’s son was home at the time but awoke at around 5.30am to raise the alarm.
17 November – Armed assailants attacked four people, killing three of them, in Bugalagrande, department of Valle del Cauca. The victims were travelling in a vehicle through a rural area when the assailants opened fire. One died at the scene, with two others later succumbing to their injuries in hospital. The fourth was hurt but survived.
17 November – Community journalist and activist Steven Andrés Fajardo was killed in Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia. He was a host at independent platform Triunfadora Stereo and was well-known for his reporting.
21 November – Five people were found dead from gunshot wounds in Buenos Aires, Cauca. Reports said the three females and two males were minors. Their names were not immediately released. Investigators were assessing whether they had been forcibly recruited into an armed group. The mayor of Cauca, Octavio Guzmán, said that the crime ‘deserves our full indignation’ and promised to fully investigate the incident.
22 November – Another massacre claimed four lives in Barranquilla, the largest city in Colombia’s Caribbean region. Two other people were injured. Armed groups, as well as local gangs, are competing over the drugs trade and other illicit activity in Barranquilla.
23 November – Human rights activist Lida Katherine Rojas Torres was shot dead close to her home in Aguazul, Casanare. She worked as a public accountant and was well-known locally for her organising role.
25 November – Human rights groups warned that fighting between armed groups had severely impacted local residents in rural communities located in Silvia, Cauca. Gunfire and other violent activity confined families to their homes, which left them unable to access essential services, food and medicines. Armed combatants were using buildings to provide cover as they fired at their opponents, with some people inside homes that came under return fire. The fighting lasted at least two days.
26 November – The body of Cristian Camilo Arroyave Bermúdez, a young man previously imprisoned over the 2021 National Strike protests against Colombia’s then-government, was found in Dosquebradas, Risaralda. Cristian was among former prisoners who had been receiving psychological support funded by Irish trade union Forsa in a programme facilitated by Justice for Colombia. Several other former prisoners and their families have received threats since their release. Under the Duque government, authorities imprisoned over 300 young people, often on highly dubious evidence, over the 2021 protests, the largest seen in Colombia in decades.
26 November – An indigenous social organisation, Ñatubaiyibari, reported that armed men had interrupted a meeting between its members and representatives of the state-run National Agency for Lands and National Parks (ANT) in Tibú, a town in Colombia’s northeast Catatumbo region. When the armed men ordered the ANT officials to leave, community leaders requested that they respect community autonomy, which was reportedly met with threats of violence. Ñatubaiyibari denounced what it said were attempts by the armed group to block indigenous territorial rights, calling on authorities to install a regional committee with local communities to address insecurity issues and the presence of armed groups.
27 November – Armed assailants killed four people in Policarpa, Nariño. An initial attack inside a home left two women and a man dead, before a fourth person was killed nearby soon afterwards. One of the victims was named as 22-year-old Ángel Nieto.
28 November – Indigenous leader Lorenzo Pascal Guanga was confirmed dead four days after going missing in San Andrés de Tumaco, Nariño. He was acting governor in the Anza Mapí community that belongs to the larger indigenous reservation El Gran Sábalo. Lorenzo was abducted on 24 November. His body as found with torture marks the day after four people were also killed in Nariño department.