Community leader James Luís Jiménez Estrada was murdered by unidentified assailants in Turbo, department of Antioquia, on Friday 20 April. He was visiting his sister when the attack occurred. His attackers have not been identified.
James was president of the Community Action Board in Cacahual, where he campaigned over land reform and coordinated illicit crop substitution programmes. He is the latest victim of political violence targeting people working to implement the terms of the 2016 peace agreement.
Local human rights organisations said in a statement that ‘this incident increases concern for the protection of life and integrity of those who participate and lead social and community organisations’.
Despite the peace agreement, the region continues to see high levels of political violence as competing armed groups vie for territorial control and illicit activities.
The statement also called on the Colombian state to take measures to implement the peace agreement, as it ‘seems that communities in these territories cannot benefit from themes such as land restitution, formalisation, land fund, illicit crop substitution and the collective judicial submission of the heirs of paramilitarism’.