A member of the FENSUAGRO agricultural trade union has been murdered in one of the latest attacks on labour organising in Colombia. Luis Eduardo Dagua was found dead on 16 July in Caloto, department of Cauca. He had been tortured and subsequently beaten to death.
Luis was a well-known and highly-respected organiser in his community. As well as a FENSUAGRO trade unionist, he was a member of the local Community Council and of regional human rights organisations. Luis was also the father of a former FARC combatant currently undergoing the reincorporation process. Since the peace agreement was signed in November 2016, several close relatives of FARC members have been murdered.
According to Colombia’s national Ombudsman, 311 social leaders, including trade unionists, were murdered between 1 January 2016 and 30 June 2018. Several more killings have occurred since then.