Fabián Alberto Álvarez Marín

On 14 July 2017, Fabián Alberto Alvarez Marín, 52, was killed by a gun shot to the lung while returning home from lunch with his family on his motorcycle in Antioquia, Colombia. His young daughter who was on the same motorcycle with him witnessed the shooting and soon after his wife and other daughter arrived by motorcycle and called the emergency services. By the time he arrived to the hospital, however, he had already died. His wife Luisa is certain that the bullet was not specifically for Fabián as he had not received any previous threats and had no history with any gangs in the area.

In May 2013, Alvarez and his family, along with many other families, were forced to move out of their homes in San Cristóbal due t0 the conflicts between gangs and following the murder of Fabián’s nephew, Jonathan Alvarez.

Fabián and other families demanded that security measures be put into place by authorities so that they could return to their homes. When they finally were able to return to the neighbourhood four years later the residents realized that the atmosphere had changed immensely because of the ongoing conflict. Fabián wanted there to be harmony between the community and the authorities and so organised a party for everyone. A few days later, however, the police withdrew their security from the neighbourhood.

It is unfortunately unknown who Fabián’s murders were and if they were ever captured. He was most likely killed by a criminal gang in the area. He is buried in a cemetery in San Javier.

 

 


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Region:Americas

Country:Colombia

Department/Province/State:Antioquia

Sex1:Male

Age:52

Date of Killing:14/07/2017

Type of Work:Community leader

Organisation:Sector of La Loma, district of San Cristóbal

Sector or Type of Rights the HRD Worked On:ESC Rights

Sector Detail:Land Rights

More information:Front Line Defenders

1This database records an individual's chosen gender identity. If they do not self-identify as male or female they can use the option of recording other/neither or use the term NBGI (non binary gender identity).