Edwin Dagua Ipia was the governor of the Huellas de Caloto indigenous reserve. Last July he had asked the Government for protection. The Ministry of the Interior asked the relevant authorities in charge to clarify what happened as soon as possible.

Edwin Dagua Ipia, indigenous governor of the Huellas reserve in the municipality of Caloto, north of Cauca, was murdered yesterday (07/12/2018) in the rural area of ​​La Buitrera, on the road that leads to El Palo, by armed men who intercepted him and shot him several times.

«The first information indicated that armed men attacked him directly and shot him dead» Edwin Capáz, head of the Human Rights Commission of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), told Blu Radio, who also revealed that Dagua Ipia had already reported death threats against him.

In a communiqué, the Interior Ministry regretted and condemned the murder, while noting that once the facts were known, the Viceministry of Participation and Equality of Rights would carry out an exhaustive inquiry to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Ministry called on the state and indigenous authorities to work closely together to achieve a speedy resolution of the case.