Government of Colombia offers US$ 249,000 for ELN leader 2:10
(CNN) --
In 2021, 145 social leaders and human rights defenders were murdered in Colombia, the Ombudsman's Office reported Monday.
Although the figure is 20% lower than the 182 cases that occurred in 2020, the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, stated that the actions of illegal armed groups against this population continue to be “worrying”.
In a statement, the institution detailed that the most affected departments were Antioquia (24), Cauca (22), Valle Del Cauca (19), Chocó (10), Nariño, Norte de Santander and Putumayo, each with 9 reported homicides.
In these seven departments, 70% of the total cases were concentrated in the period studied.
The murder of a renowned stylist Mauricio Leal and his mother that shocks Colombia
Regarding the composition of the affected groups, 79% of the murders were concentrated in community leaders with 35 homicides, indigenous leaders (32), community leaders (18), peasant or agrarian leaders (16), union leaders and public servants with 7 cases each.
Finally, they indicated that the Ombudsman's Office handed over all its information to the Attorney General's Office (FGN) so that it can carry out the investigations that will clarify the cases.
Murder of a teenager from the indigenous guard shocks Colombia
On January 5, the FGN reported that in 2021 there was a 68.3% progress in clarifying crimes against social leaders recognized by the UN.
They indicated that in 285 of the 417 known cases there were effective judicial actions.