Albeiro Silva Mosquera and his brother Luis Hugo Silva Mosquera were leading members of the Guardia Campesina ( Peasant Guard), as well as members of the Junta de Accion Comunal – JAC, (Community Action Board) in the village of La Morena in the Cilia-La Calera indigenous reserve in Miranda, Cauca. They were also members of Asociación Pro-constitución Zona de Reserva Campesina -ASPROZONAC-. (Association for the Constitution of the Peasant Reserve°.
Their sister is president of the JAC.
At 08.30pm on the evening of 16 February 2020, Albeiro and Luis Hugo were leaving a community event in the Cilia-La Calera reservation when they were attacked by six armed men who opened fire on them repeatedly. They were seriously injured. One of the brothers died on the spot while the other brother died after being transferred to the local hospital.
The other members of the Indigenous Guard gave chase but the killers managed to escape.
According to Mauricio Capaz of Asociación de Cabildos Indígenas del Norte del Cauca, Acín (the Association of Indigenous Chiefs of Northern Cauca), this killing was particularly alarming as it was the second killing in less than 24 hours, and carried out in exactly the same way.
In a statement the “Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca, CRIC, (Human Rights Commission of the Regional Indigenous Council of the Cauca) said, “every day the situation is becoming more violent, despite the government’s announcement of plans to implement military strategies to counteract this situation. Nevertheless, we native peoples are continuing to defend the life and territory of our people with words and civil resistance.”
Dissident elements of both the FARC and the ELN are active in the region.