Sources: El Tiempo, Caqueta Extra, Analisis Urbano, Unric.org

About

Lucero Jaramillo Álvarez was a secretary for the Community Action Board of Puerto Valdivia, Curillo, in the department of Caquetá.

The leader supported and actively participated in the processes of substitution of illicit crops in her community.

The Killing and Investigation

The leader was murdered by unknown persons in the village of La Novia.  She was shot six times and taken to San José del Fragua to receive medical attention; however, the woman died during the trip to the medical center.

Álvarez had not made or reported any death threats against her.

The Police have indications that the FARC dissidents may be responsible for the crime, although other illegal armed groups were also present in the area during the days before the elections and were pressuring social leaders and presidents of community action boards, to support candidates they wanted in the elections.

The Caquetá Development and Peace Network Foundation rejected the assassination of the leader and pointed out that this will not break the historical fabric of actions and paths of peace that are built in the midst of the conflict.

“We join the voices that reject the murder of Lucero Jaramillo. Silence is not possible when the right to life is not respected,” they said in a statement.

Context

According to data from the Ombudsman’s Office, 11 social leaders and human rights defenders were murdered in Caquetá in 2018.

So far in 2019, three leaders have been murdered in the apartment, a figure that shows how worrying the situation is.

7 of the social leaders murdered last year belonged to community action boards in a municipality of Caquetá.