On 10 January, paramilitaries in Antioquia murdered José Yimer Cartagena Úsuga, a 30-year-old political organiser and human rights defender, who was Vice-President of the ASODECAS Peasant Farmer Association and a member the political movement Patriotic March.
José was travelling from his home in Saiza, department of Córdoba, to a meeting in Carepa, Antioquia, when his vehicle was intercepted by armed men. They forced him out and took him away. His body was found soon after, with his hands tied, a plastic bag over his head and over thirty stab wounds.
It is the latest act of violence committed against ASODECAS, whose members have been subjected to threats by paramilitaries. Despite this, the government continues to deny that paramilitaries are active in Colombia.
Source: Vidas Silenciadas