Armed groups operating in the department of Cauca, in southwestern Colombia, murdered the 14-year-old indigenous guard Breiner David Cucuñame López, indigenous organizations denounced on Saturday.
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Three people are murdered in Cauca, Colombia
The Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca (ACIN) issued a statement in which it condemned the crime of Cucuñame López, who was a caretaker of Mother Earth in the Las Delicias reservation, municipality of Buenos Aires, in Cauca.
The minor was killed last Friday when he was going to ask for help in the presence of armed groups near the community.
Statement by the Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca, ACIN, on the murder of an Indigenous guard and the horrific and painful crime of a 14-year-old boy at the hands of armed groups. pic.twitter.com/pbJu0i8v2d
– William Parra (@William_Garra)
January 16, 2022
In addition to the child, the indigenous guard Guillermo Chicame also lost his life, while the authority of the Nasa community of Las Delicias Fabián Camayo was seriously injured.
According to the ACIN complaint, the armed group responsible for the killings was the self-styled Western Coordinating Command.
My categorical rejection of the attack on the Indigenous Guard registered this January 14 in Buenos Aires, Cauca, which left two comrades murdered: the indigenous guard Guillermo Chicame Ipia and the 14-year-old community member, Breiner David Cucuñame López.#SOSIndigenous Peoples pic.twitter.com/1WxOEoDSvn
– Feliciano Valencia (@FelicianoValen)
January 15, 2022
The murders are not isolated cases. According to the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC), more than 300 members of indigenous communities have been murdered in the last three years.
According to the CRIC Human Rights Observatory, there have been 314 murders corresponding to indigenous authorities, community members and guards between 2019 and 2021.
Communiqué: We denounce and reject attacks and attacks on the territory of the Cxhab Wala Kiwe-ACIN and deny the lying pamphlet of the FARC-EP https://t.co/APhGrXsZeZ
— Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) (@CRIC_Cauca)
January 16, 2022
According to the Observatory of Human Rights and Conflicts of the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz), 1,286 leaders have been assassinated at the country level since the signing of the peace agreement in 2016.
If the murders that have occurred since Iván Duque assumed the presidency of the country, on August 7, 2018, are taken into account, the figure rises to 888 homicides against Colombian community leaders.