Blood on the Streets: Colombia’s Deadly Crusade Against Human Rights Defenders Claims Another Life
Colombian Human Rights Defender Albeiro Caicedo Murdered
Albeiro Caicedo, the former president of the Community Action Board of Tame, a municipality in the department of Arauca, Colombia, was murdered on a road in the town, according to a report by the United Nations. This incident brings the total number of human rights defenders murdered in the country to 148.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, Juliette de Rivero, condemned the murder on her social media account, stating, “We condemn the murder of Albeiro Caicedo, a human rights defender, member of the Arauca Human Rights Defenders Network, and community leader, who was murdered today in the rural area of Tame.”
Arauca, which shares a border with Venezuela, is a region plagued by a declared war between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and FARC dissidents, fighting for territorial control. This conflict has put the local population at risk of assassinations, selective threats, and forced displacement.
De Rivero urged non-state armed groups to respect the life and integrity of human rights defenders in Arauca, emphasizing the importance of their work for the civilian population and democracy. She also called on Colombian State entities to implement urgent protection measures for defenders and to investigate, prosecute, and punish those responsible for crimes against defenders.
According to figures from the Non-Governmental Organization for the Development of Peace Studies (Indepaz), 148 leaders and human rights defenders have been murdered in Colombia this year.