Santos Isidro Cruz, aged 40, died after being found with severe signs of torture and three shots to the chest and abdomen on Friday, June 14, 2019. He was reported missing by his wife on June 12, when he did not return home from work. On Friday, Police found him on the side of the road, still alive and took him to the hospital, where he passed away shortly after being admitted.

Santos was the spokesman of the Comité Ambientalista del Valle de Siria (CAVS), an organisation that has been in permanent opposition to the mining activities in the region because of the negative health and environmental impacts. As well as Santos, other members of the organization have been threatened because of their participation.