About
Belisario Arciniegas García, was a community leader, a farmer in Micoahumado and candidate for local council elections.
He had won an internal consultation between six people from the U Party, who were campaigning to be the candidate for the council of the township of Micoahumado.
Source: Bucaramanga
« He was a social leader, a person who was always taking the concerns of the different communities to the municipal and departmental authorities. I don’t know the reasons why this happened, but more than just a council candidate, he was a social leader who spoke for the community and has now been silenced, « Morales’ councilwoman, Osmeida Manrique Caviedes, told ‘Blu Radio’.
The Killing
Source: Bucaramanga, Caracol Radio, ICN
On the afternoon of Tuesday May 7th 2019, as authorities reported, the events occurred around 5:30 in the afternoon in the village of El Progreso. Arciniegas was about 20 minutes from the town center of the municipality, when heavily armed men came and shot him at least five times, killing him immediately.
The first investigations indicate that Arciniega García was riddled with five shots in different parts of the body on the road that connects the El Progreso neighborhood, with the Morales town center.
They believe he was intercepted by members of The National Liberation Army – a guerrilla group in Colombia commonly known as the ELN – and murdered.
Belisario’s body was transferred to the town, where he was be taken to the municipality of Santa Rosa del Sur with his relatives.
Source: La Libertad
‘We show solidarity with the family and the community in general for this violent act. We condemn the murder of young Belisario Arciniega. We are defending the human rights of all the inhabitants, ‘‘ said human rights defender, Neguib Antonio Eslit.