The Colombian authorities denounced Tuesday, April 20 the assassination of an indigenous governor, Sandra Liliana Peña, in the department of Cauca (southwest).
Armed men shot her near her home as she was riding a motorbike towards the village of Caldono, the Cauca Regional Indigenous Council said in a statement.
Another indigenous person was seriously injured in the attack, according to senator and community leader Feliciano Valencia.
He assured W radio that Sandra Liliana Peña was threatened
"for having opposed illegal cultivation, which is the majority in the region"
.
Read also: Colombia: eight Farc leaders charged with crimes against humanity
Indigenous people and heads of human rights organizations are regularly targeted by armed groups financed by drug trafficking, who compete for control of strategic areas for this market.
“We regret the assassination of Sandra Peña, indigenous governor of the La Laguna reserve,
(...)
who fought relentlessly for the indigenous communities in this region of agriculture, livestock and horticulture. »
, Tweeted the People's Defender (ombudsman).
The UN condemned the attack and called for
"effective measures so that the lives of women leaders are not affected by their commitment to defend the life, the territory and their communities"
. According to the independent Observatory Indepaz, 52 community leaders and human rights defenders have been assassinated in 2021 and 1,166 since Colombia signed the peace agreement with the Farc four years ago.