José Arquímedes Moreno

José Arquímedes Moreno who was shot dead on 10 February was the third social leader killed in Catatumbo in recent weeks.

Os dirigentes sociais continuam a ser ameaçados e assassinados na Colômbia

There is no end to the number of social leaders killed in Colombia. The most recent victim is José Arquímedes Moreno, who was shot several times in the T-25 rural area of ​​Tibú, Norte de Santander. Two men on a motorcycle shot the social leader, a member of a community action board, when he arrived at his home in the rural area of ​​Tibú, Norte de Santander.

Colonel of the Police of Norte de Santander, Gorge Quintero said that “the Institutional Mechanism for the Prevention and Protection of Persons and Communities in a Vulnerable Situation has been activated and is using all possible means to carry out a full investigation to identify those responsible for this brutal killing and to bring them before the Colombian justice system. .

José was “part of a community action board,” said Colonel Quintero. The communities in Norte de Santander are worried because he was the third leader killed in that department, where the EPL, ELN and dissident groups of the Farc converge.

Hacarí, San Calixto, El Tarra and Teorama, municipalities of that department were considered by the representative of the UN Alberto Brunori as places of high risk for community leaders.


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Region:Americas

Country:Colombia

Department/Province/State:Norte de Santander

Sex1:Male

Age:34

Date of Killing:12/02/2019

Previous Threats:No information

Type of Work:Community leader

Sector or Type of Rights the HRD Worked On:ESC Rights

Sector Detail:Abuse of power/corruption, Citizens' rights, Peasant Communities

More information:Front Line Defenders

1This database records an individual's chosen gender identity. If they do not self-identify as male or female they can use the option of recording other/neither or use the term NBGI (non binary gender identity).