Colombia: News & Updates

In a press release on the rights of transgender persons issued March 31, 2024, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) reminded the member nations of the Organization of American States (OAS) that recognition of gender identity is essential to all civil, political and human rights. The IACHR expressed its disposition to work with member nations and civil society to promote and guarantee the human rights of persons who are trans, non-binary, or otherwise of the sexual diversity community.

In Colombia, trans people were given the right to change their gender on all identification documents starting in 2015. In October 2019, Bogotá elected their first woman and lesbian mayor. Various elected representatives across national, departmental, and local levels now come from the LGBTI+ community. Increased visibility in TV shows and media coverage has grown more consistent.

Despite the advances, hatred and violence against LGBTI+ persons (especially transgender persons) persists. In 2024, the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman reported a 30% increase (compared to the previous year) in cases of bias-based violence against transgender women, transgender men, and non-binary people.   And so far this year, at least 24 LGBTI+ have been killed.

Three of those hate killings have happened in just one town, Bello, a suburb of Medellin. In a horrific act of violence on April 4, assailants abducted Sara Millerey González, a 32-year-old trans activist, beat her, broke her arms and legs and threw her into the Playa Rica River and left her to die. The incident gained national attention because onlookers recorded her screaming from the water and posted videos on social media. When rescuers finally retrieved her and took her to an emergency clinic, she was suffering from a punctured lung and hypothermia. She died from a heart attack the following day, with her mother at her bedside. “I knelt down and hugged her and told her that I loved her very much. I told her she was going to be with God, because no one in heaven was going to humiliate or discriminate against her for being her.”

After the Peace Accords were signed between the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the national government, some factions of the FARC (“dissidents”) broke off into other armed bands, rejecting the peace deal. They continue to manipulate vulnerable communities for armed political objectives, endangering civilians in ways that violate international humanitarian law.

In several rural zones of Cauca Department, the Residual Armed Organized Group (GAOr) Carlos Patiño (FARC dissidents) are deeply involved in drug trafficking, extortion, and environmental destruction, particularly in the Micay River basin. Last month, because of the presence of the National Army in Argelia municipality, a commander of the the GAOr threatened the local campesinos if they did not work with the GAOr to violently expel the soldiers. In a radio communication, he said: “…gather everyone around, and if anyone doesn't want to leave, shoot them and they'll be hidden from the military.” If the civilians did not join the GAOr in setting fire to Army armored vehicles, he further threatened to halt the purchase of coca leaves from the campesinos—whose livelihoods depend heavily on coca cultivation—if they did not violently confront the military presence in the region.

This manipulation of vulnerable communities for armed political objectives is unacceptable. We are urging that government authorities consult with local civilian leaders to create protection schemes to ensure that they are not subjected to collective punishment, manipulation, or coercion by any armed actors. We additionally urge that the government strengthen civilian institutions and implement lasting, community-centered alternatives to coca cultivation in the region.

It is still unclear why school teachers in Antioquia Department are being attacked.

Martin Emilio Acevedo Quiceño, an active member of the Association of Teachers of Antioquia (Adida),  was last seen alive on March 1 when he left his house in Caldas, Antioquia Department, to walk his dog. Early the next day, his half-naked body was found in a wooded area showing stab wounds to the chest and blunt force trauma to the head.

The murder of 55-year-old Martin Emilio Acevedo Quiceño follows a series of attacks against teachers in Antioquia this year, including the killing of teacher Daniel Esteban Raigoza on January 10 and Jorge Enrique Cano Jaramillo on February 7 (cf our letter March 24 2025).

Martin Emilio Acevedo Quiceño, ¡presente!

Jaime Alonso Gallego Gómez was one of the most threatened social leaders in northeastern Antioquia. As a founding member of the Segovia and Remedios Mining Roundtable, Jaime Gallego led the ancestral mining movement in his hometown for decades, working to defend his community against the multinational, profit-oriented large-scale mining companies.  After participating in a miners strike in November 2024 (to demand government guarantees for ancestral artisinal mining), a pamphlet was circulated threatening to silence him.

On March 3, Jaime Gallego, better known by his nickname Mongo, and his bodyguard were reported disappeared when the GPS tracker of their National Protection Unit (UNP) vehicle was deactivated as they were traveling to a meeting in Vegachí, Antioquia Department. Six days later, after gunshots were reported in the early morning of March 9, Jaime Gallego was found dead. 

Jaime Alonso Gallego Gómez, ¡presente!

The Association of Teachers of Antioquia (Adida) and the Colombian Federation of Education Workers (Fecode) are urging government authorities to create protection schemes for teachers in rural areas.

Hitmen shot 49-year-old school teacher Jorge Enrique Cano Jaramillo to death on February 7 while he was on his way to work at the Roberto López Rural Educational Institution in the Sofía neighborhood of Santo Domingo, located in northeastern Antioquia Department. The killing of Jorge Enrique Cano is not an isolated incident. His murder follows a series of attacks against teachers in Antioquia this year. On January 10, teacher Daniel Esteban Raigoza was murdered in the municipality of Turbo;  on January 15, teachers Geiver Nair Palacio and Carlos Sarmiento were victims of a hitman attack in Fredonia. These events have generated concern among educators and highlighted the risks faced by those working in areas affected by armed violence.

Indigenous rights defenders and other social leaders are at great risk in northern Cauca Department, where illegal armed groups battle for territory and control of land for illicit crops.

On March 1, armed men on a motorcycle in Toribío, Cauca, shot Édgar Tumiñá Gembuel nine times in the head. He was taken to a municipal health center but died due to the severity of his injuries.

Édgar Tumiñá, age 48, was a recognized leader of the Nasa people of northern Cauca. A member of the Indigenous Guard (Kiwe Thegnas), he taught children how to avoid being recruited into armed groups, how to provide first aid to injured persons, and how to shelter during gunfire. Illegal armed groups have a strong presence in Toribío, growing marijuana and coca (for cocaine production) on the reservation of the Nasa people. Since February, thousands of people have been displaced or forcibly confined because of conflicts between the armed groups.  Furthermore, they attempt to recruit the Indigenous children into their ranks.

The brother of Édgar Tumiñá Gembuel was assassinated in 2014. Édgar Tumiñá Gembuel himself had received threats and already survived other assassination attempts. According to the Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca (ACIN), he was being targeted by the Dagoberto Ramos Front (a dissident group that splintered from the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).  

In Colombia, a human rights defender is assassinated every two days. In 2024, there were 173 social leaders killed.  In 2023, the death toll was 188.  In 2022, 187 were murdered. Now in the first quarter of 2025, 40 social leaders have been murdered.

Diego Alexander Herrera Carranza became number 40 on March 14, 2025 when armed attackers approached him at a public establishment in the Kennedy neighborhood of Barrancabermeja, Santander Department. They shot him repeatedly—killing him instantly—and fled.

Diego Herrera was a key leader of the human rights movement in the Magdalena Medio region. An active member of the Barrancabermeja Victims' Participation Roundtable, he defended communities victimized by the armed conflict, promoted initiatives for victim reparations, access to justice, and compliance with peace agreements.