Mario Alberto Achicué, 26, was found dead in his house with head injuries on 8 September 2019.

Mario was an active member of the indigenous guard in the Lame-norte de Páez reserve, where he was born. He also worked as a guard in community activities in the Avirama reserve, where he was living at the time of his death.

“We are in the hands of armed groups who operate outside of the law, who intimidate indigenous, farmers, leaders. We need strategies that will help to improve our quality of life”, said some inhabitants of the reserve.

According to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC for its Spanish acronym), 167 indigenous leaders have been murdered since the signing of the Peace Deal between the state and the FARC.