A new report by Colombia’s Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) has found that violence against political, social and community activists has spiked since electoral campaigning officially began.
The report found that since 11 December 2017 there have been 62 cases of violence, 20 per cent the total of the previous year, in which 273 cases were documented. The MOE attributed this escalation to the iniitation of campaigning.
The figure of 62 included 31 cases of murder, 11 attacks and 20 cases of intimidation or threats. They occurred in 20 departments (out of 32) across the country.
The MOE’s figures are lower than other sources. The INDEPAZ organisation has published figures showing that, as of 10 Feburary, 29 social leaders and ten FARC members have already been killed in 2018.
Source: El Espectador