Washington Cedeño Otero had been a primary school teacher in Cordoba, Colombia, for twenty years with a degree in the Spanish language. He was also a member of the Association of Teachers and Education Workers of Cordoba which campaigned for better labour rights, benefits and improvement in the quality of education in public schools.

On the 6th of June 2017, Washington was shot multiple times by two men on a motorcycle while leaving a meeting at the school he worked in. He died instantly. It is not known if he had received any previous threats to his life. While there were many witnesses to his murder in the parents and students and an investigation launched, no one has ever been caught for this heinous crime. He left a wife and four young children.

The department of education in Cordoba has the highest murder rate of teachers in Colombia. Seventeen teachers have been shot dead in the Department of Cordoba since 2010.