Mauricio Pérez Martínez was an indigenous rights defender and leader of the Hitmü people in Arauquita. He was the governor of the la Vorágine reservation and lived in the community of La Ilusión.  He was working on a project to strengthen and protect the reservation which was being coordinated by the central government, the Human Rights Ombudsman and the Attorney General of the state.

On the 5 August, 2020 a group of 10 armed men arrived on the reservation at 7am in the morning and identified themselves as members of a dissident part of the FARC, the “Décimo Frente Martín Villa de las FARC-EP.” They dragged Mauricio out of his house and shot him dead. They then pinned a leaflet to his body threatening the whole community.

In June 2021 Gerardo Anija Guarupe, aka Gerardo or El Indio,was stopped by a military patrol and found to be carrying a FARC uniform. He was been arrested and charged with rebellion and involvement in the murder of Mauricio.