On the night of Friday 24 May 2019, two armed men who apparently identified themselves as members of the ELN took Concepción Corredor, a leader from La Pradera de Nunchía, Casanare, from her farm. The 42-year-old woman was later found dead near the road that leads to the village of El Caucho.

“Apparently, in the early hours of the morning, two hooded men who were travelling on a motor cyle, entered the house, and violently took the leader, saying they needed to talk to her about some issues. She was taken to a place close to her home”. According to the Ombudsman of Casanare, relatives heard shots and shortly afterwards her body was found.

Concepción, a mother of two children, had not received any threats prior to her murder. However, a source who requested anonymity said a leaflet, apparently from a faction of the ELN that had not been heard of previously, was found close to the body. Concepción was the sister of Eduardo Alfonso Pérez, a pre-candidate for the Green Party to the Nunchía Council.

According to Rubiela Benítez “Concepción was a community leader who had been active in promoting women’s rights. Casanare department has not seen many killings of community leaders, but social leaders have received many threats and there are groups outside the law who do not agree with the human rights process we are leading.”

One of the first people to denounce the murder of Corredor was the ex-senator of the Green Alliance Jorge Prieto, who is widely respected for his activism on behalf of peasant communities. The ex-parliamentarian has called for an investigation into this crime and demanded that the authorities take action to protect community leaders from the threat of violence from guerrillas and paramilitary groups.

Although the killers were allegedly members of the ELN, this is far from clear and the finding of the leaflet may have been a deliberate attempt to cause confusion.