On the evening of 16 December, 2020, community leader María Adriana Díaz León was travelling by motorbike on the road between Santander de Quilichao and the village of La Balsa in the municipality of Buenos Aires in Cauca. She was intercepted by armed men who shot her dead.

It appears that the gunmen waited for her in an area known as Río La Teta and opened fire as she approached, shooting her multiple times.

The authorities have discounted robbery as a motive as all her belongings, including the motorbike, were found with the body.