Sigifredo Gutiérrez, 57 years old, was president of the Junta de Acción Comunal (Community Action Board) of the San Isidro district in Morales, Cauca. He was well known in the community for his work in numerous projects to help local people in difficult circumstances. He was a coordinator of a traffic checkpoint to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and he was a leading organiser of the local farmers’ markets.

During the pandemic, Sigifredo managed to collect supplies for local families who weren’t able to buy food due to the pandemic.

On the night of 18 July, 2020, he was at home, when armed men arrived and shot him multiple times. Neighbours came to help him immediately but he died from his injuries. Sigifredo had a disability and was confined to a wheelchair.

Just days before Sigifredo was killed two young men Óscar Andrés Ceballos and Johan Andrés Pardo were shot dead and at the end of June community leader Rosalbini Becoche was shot dead at the coronavirus checkpoint.

It appears that the killings were carried out by members of armed criminal groups who object to the restrictions on their movements caused by the checkpoints.