Joel Aguablanca Villamizar  was a leader of the indigenous U’wa people and director of the Asociación de Autoridades Tradicionales y Cabildos U’was,(Association of Traditional U’wa Leaders and Authorities) -ASOUWA.

He was also the coordinator of Educación de la Nación Indígena Chitagá.

On 30 May, 2020 a group of armed men, dissident members of the ELN, had gathered in Chitiga.

The next day, 31 May, 2020, Joel was at home in Chitigá, Norte de Santander, when an army unit arrived in the area in pursuit of the ELN members and opened fire. Joel went to the door of his house to see what was going on and was immediately shot.

Despite the fact that he was obviously seriously injured the army refused to allow him to be taken for medical treatment. Two hours later he died from his injuries in front of his family.

In a statement, international environmental organisation EarthRights International said:

Indigenous leader Joel Aguablana Villamizer was murdered by the Colombian army in the Chitagá municipality of Norte Santander, Colombia.

 Joel was an indigenous leader and education coordinator for the U’wa Association of Traditional Authorities and Cabildos (ASOU’WA). The army murdered Joel as part of a mission to capture Darío Quiñonez, alias Marcial, third leader of the Efraín Pabón Pabón Front and commander of the Martha Cecilia Pabón Commission of the National Liberation Army (ELN) .

 According to Earthrights Excutive Director Ka Hsaw Wa “In carrying out this operation, the Colombian National Army and the ELN did not respect the basic principles of international humanitarian law, threatening the life and security of the U’wa civilian population, including five minors.”

 The military operation that resulted in Joel’s murder was carried out in close proximity to the U’wa United Reservation, which is part of the U’wa Nation ancestral territory. This highlights the impacts that the Colombian government’s fight against armed forces still has on the indigenous U’wa population. The U’Wa have been declared an endangered group by the Constitutional Court of Colombia.