Social leader José Jair Orozco Calvo murdered in Valle del Cauca

Another social leader was murdered in Colombia on Saturday, taking the number of murders in 2019 to at least 19. José Jair Orozco Calvo was shot in Cartago in the department of Valle del Cauca and subsequently died in hospital.

José was 52 years old and a member of a community housing committee in the Valla Hermosa zone of Cartago. He directed local housing projects designed to provide access to housing for low-income residents.

More than 400 social activists and human rights defenders have been murdered in Colombia since the peace agreement was signed in November 2016.