Mireya Hernández Guevara

On the evening of 8 January 2020, Mireya Hernández Guevara was driving towards her house with her husband on a motorbike, when two unknown gunmen, who had been waiting for them, intercepted them and shot her twice. She was taken to hospital but died from her injuries. Her husband was uninjured.

Mireya had been a member of the Junta de Accion Comunal (JAC) in the village Barrio 20 de Julio and had been treasurer until 2 years before , when she stepped down. She was the fourth community leader killed in the area in the first half of January 2020.

Mireya came from a humble background but because of her energy and leadership skills she was always to the fore in different struggles for a better standard of living for the people in her community.

In 1990 she had managed to get a small parcel of land as part of the redistribution of the large Satias hacienda. It was this experience that motivated her to take part in the struggle to help other people.

There has been a recent upsurge of violence in the area from criminal and paramilitary groups. The government has stepped up the police and military presence in the area in response.


If you would like to provide a personal recollection, please email us at: HRDMemorial@frontlinedefenders.org

Region:Americas

Country:Colombia

Department/Province/State:Huila

Sex1:Female

Age:56

Date of Killing:08/01/2020

Previous Threats:Specific threat to HRD

Type of Work:Community leader

Organisation:Junta de Acción Comunal (JAC) Barrio 20 de Julio

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

Sector Detail:Abuse of power/corruption, Land Rights, Peace Building, Peasant Communities

More information:El Programa Somos Defensores

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).