Miguel Ángel Parra

Miguel Ángel Parra, a recognized community leader from the south of Bogotá and who was a native of Cunday, Tolima was murdered with a single shot. Miguel had lived with his wife for 20 years in the Guadalupe neighbourhood, Kennedy town. According to relatives, his dream of transforming the neighborhood environment led him to the grave.

Tulia Aguilera, Miguel’s wife, said: “They tell us that he had an argument with the man who had been following him since he left the house. The saddest thing is that the person involved managed to erase the evidence against him and claimed to be illiterate to achieve his freedom, ”said the widow. He added: “That guy said that the police beat him and that the community was going to lynch him for the murder, now the crime against my husband is in impunity.”

The woman recalled that Michelangelo dreamed of transforming everything around him, also denounced the existence of illegal slaughterhouses, and it was that hunt for control of the territory that ended Parra’s life. Now Tulia, along with the two daughters of Tolima, must leave the neighborhood. Meanwhile, the widow, in collaboration with community leaders and transporters, seeks the recapture of her husband’s murderer.


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Region:Americas

Country:Colombia

Department/Province/State:Tolima

Sex1:Male

Date of Killing:06/04/2014

Previous Threats:Yes

Type of Work:Farmer

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

Sector Detail:Environmental Rights

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).