Didian Arley Agudero was a member of the Junta de Accion Comunal – JAC, (Community Action Board) of Vereda La Frisolera, Antioquia. He was also a council member in Campamento municipality.
On 26 February 2020, the 38-year-old community leader was reported disappeared. Hundreds of peasants from 15 communities together with staff from the Prosecutor’s Office and the Public Force undertook a search in the immediate vicinity and the surrounding areas.
Four days later his body was found tied to a tree.
The situation in which the body was found has raised many questions.
The body was found in an area controlled by the 7th Army Division. That area was searched extensively but there was no trace of Didian. Also when the body was found there was no sign of decay, suggesting that he had just been killed, even though he had been missing for 4 days. The implication is that he had been held somewhere prior to his death.
Frente 36, a dissident paramilitary group of the FARC is active in the area under the leadership of Ricardo Abel Ayala, alias Cabuyo. The army has been trying to catch him and have in the past held members of the peasant community to try to extract information.
Didian’s family and community leaders hold the army responsible and have called for a full investigation. Two thousand members of the community have taken part in a protest calling for the army to withdraw from the area.
The commander of the 7th Division has said the army is happy to cooperate with the civil authorities and has opened a disciplinary hearing.