Julio César Hernández Salcedo was a well respected community leader and member of the Junta de Acción Comunal, (Community Action Board) in vereda San Antonio in San José de Uré, Antioquia.
He was also a member of the Asociación de Campesinos del Bajo Cauca (Peasant Association of Bajo Cauca)-ASOCBAC and the Programa Nacional Integral de Sustitución de Cultivos de uso Ilícito (National Programme for the Substitution of Illicit Crops) -PNIS.
On 13 May, 2020, his body was found in a remote rural area of La Caucana in Tarazá. He had been shot multiple times.
The killing has been attributed to criminal group Los Caparros who have issued an order that noone can enter the area without their permission and that anyone in the streets after 7PM is a target.
The power of armed groups such as Los Caparros a result of the absence of a strong state presence in the area after the withdrawal of the FARC.
According to Carlos Ruiz Massieu, head of the United Nations Mission in Colombia, “the United Nations Mission is witness to the risks and vulnerability of the communities in the territories where armed groups continue to carry out their violent actions without any reduction of their violence during the pandemic. I reiterate my call to the government to take action to protect the civilian population, to implement the agreements, and respect the call for a global ceasefire made by Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN.”