Dear President Petro and Attorney General Camargo:
We are deeply distressed to learn of the assassination of Fernanda Domicó. She served as the head of the Fire Department of Dabeiba, Antioquia Department, and was widely recognized for her advocacy as an Indigenous social leader of the Embera people and for her visibility as a trans woman.
Sergeant Mario Hernández, second-in-command of the Fire Department of Dabeiba, reported that, according to the family, Fernanda Domicó left her home at 9p.m. on Thursday, July 24 to an unknown destination. The following morning, at approximately 10:15am, Fernanda Domicó's body was found in a rural area outside of Dabeiba, on the banks of a creek on the La Clara farm. There were several stab wounds to her head and face.
Her death comes at a time of a troubling pattern of murders of Indigenous and social leaders around Colombia. Particularly in this Urabá region on the Caribbean Sea, LGBTQ+ organizations report a structural pattern of systematic violence against trans women, who face differentiated risks marked by social exclusion, stigmatization, poverty, and the lack of institutional guarantees for the full exercise of their rights. The Caribe Afirmativo Human Rights Observatory has recorded 50 cases thus far in 2025.
Because Fernanda Domicó was a well-respected civic employee in a high-ranking position, the governor of Antioquia Department announced a reward of up to $20 million pesos for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for Fernanda Domicó's murder. We are grateful that such concerted offerings are being made here, especially as they are far greater than anything we've seen in the region in recent years.
We urge that authorities in Colombia:
(1) ensure a thorough and complete investigation into the murder of Fernanda Domicó, publish the results and bring those responsible to justice
(2) ensure protections for the family of Fernanda Domicó and key leaders of the LGBTQ+ community in Dabeiba, in accordance with their wishes
(3) enact measures to prevent future harms and fatalities to the vulnerable communities that we continue to see in harm's way: Indigenous leaders, environmental and social leaders, journalists, and LGBTQ+ individuals.
copies: Caribe Afirmativo ~ via email
Daniel García-Peña Jaramillo, Ambassador of Colombia to the US ~ via email
José Luis Caballero Ochoa, Rapporteur for Colombia , Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) ~ via email
Arif Bulkan, Rapporteur on the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Trans, Bisexual, and Intersex Persons (IACHR) ~ via email
UN: Scott Campbell, Representative in Colombia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ~ via email
US Embassy: John McNamara (Chargé d’Affaires); Adam Levy (human rights) ~ via email
US State Department: Desk Officer for Colombia ~ via email
US Senators from Ohio: Husted and Moreno ~ via email
US Representatives from Ohio: Beatty, Brown, Jordan, Joyce, Kaptur, Latta, Miller, Rulli, Sykes ~ via email
25 JUL 2025_CaribeAfirmativo_Colombia
