Human rights defenders organisations have denounced the murder of Faiver Ceron Gomez, president of Esmeralda community action board in the Mercaderes area of south Cauca.

According to the South-Occidental Colombian human right network, the leader was attacked by unknown assailants who shot him several times. The attack occurred 10 minutes from Sajandinga while the leader was travelling home on his motorbike. That morning he had taken part in a government community council meeting with Cauca civil servants.

Since 2016, communities have been organising in order to prevent illegal mining which has destroyed the local Sambingo river . He was also one of the organisers of a demonstration against a government programme to substitute the cultivation of coca with other crops and which led to a dialogue with the national government. Residents believed that Ceron’s death was related to these issues.

These events took place just after the President of Republic announced that he would be launching what he considered the beginning of public policy to tackle threats and attacks against human rights defenders; issues about which he was deeply concerned.