Hernán Antonio Bermúdez Arévalo

About

Source: Blu Radio, EL Heraldo,

Hernán Antonio Bermúdez Arévalo (‘Po’) was a land restitution leader in La Guajira, within the jurisdiction of Riohacha, northern Colombia

The leader also belonged to the El Eneal Community Council of Afro-descendants, with whom he had been carrying out a series of social work projects in order to perpetuate much of the Afro-Caribbean culture.

At the time, he had also been leading a process of land restitution for a group of peasants in the Pelechua area.

 

The Killing

Source: Tuu Putchika

Information from relatives of the murdered leader says, that the killing took place on Saturday 23rd of November, hours before the meeting to distribute land in the ‘Nuevo Mundo’ settlement.  This meeting had been scheduled for Sunday, November 24, to demarcate the land of the group of peasants, who have been working on the process of land restitution for more than three years.

In the first report from the Police Command, they indicate that according to information provided by Ms. Silvia Arevalo, two motorcycles arrived at the ‘Parcela Nuevo Mundo’ Farm, where three people wearing caps and carrying firearms arrived at the plot of the peasant leader at 7:20 p.m., shot him approximately 10 times and fled in an unknown direction.

Author:

 

The Investigation

Source: Blu Radio

The authorities initiated an investigation to find out the identity of the people who carried out the murder of this Colombian social leader.

Source: Tuu Putchika

For the moment, the authorities are trying to establish the causes surrounding the murder of social leader Hernan Antonio Bermudez Arevalo, as well as finding those responsible for the his killing.

Ombudsman, Carlos Negret Mosquera, already has full knowledge of the case and has asked the competent authorities to move forward with the investigation, in order to clarify the circumstances of the killing, since he was a recognized social leader.

The office of the ombudsman has put the family in contact with officials, who in addition to accompaniment, will also be monitoring progress in the case.

Author:


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Region:Americas

Country:Colombia

Department/Province/State:La Guajira

Nickname:Po

Sex1:Male

Age:56

Date of Killing:23/11/2019

Previous Threats:Yes

Type of Work:Social leader

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

Sector Detail:Land 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).