Two indigenous leaders murdered in Valle del Cauca

Two indigenous leaders were murdered last week in the town of El Dovio, department of Valle del Cauca, as violence against social activists which has killed around 150 people this year continues.

Hoover Alexánder Orrego and Edixon Panche Noscué were killed after attending a regional meeting. The two men were involved in coordinating local voluntary crop substitution programmes, whereby coca plantations are replaced with traditional crops by communities who farm them.

The week prior to the double killing, the victims had informed authorities about threats they had received.

Valle del Cauca has seen high levels of violence since the peace agreement was signed in late 2016. Many victims have been working on core elements of the peace process such as land reform and voluntary crop substitution.