Colombia: News & Updates

Afro-descendant and Indigenous communities are at constant risk of forced displacement in the Pacific coastal department of Valle del Cauca as armed group vie for social, territorial and resource control.

The families of the Indigenous Wounann community of the Santa Rosa de Guayacán Biodiversity and Humanitarian Reserve in the Lower Calima River region of Buenaventura have been forcibly displaced four times over the past two decades. Their traditional livelihoods—based on fishing, hunting, and agriculture—have been disrupted because of repeated incursions by paramilitaries, guerrilla rebel groups, and military forces. After their last displacement in November 2021, the national government finally gave them the green light to return in December 2023. But because of state neglect, the 30 families who make up the community have suffered from waterborne illnesses and food crises. Now they face another imminent forced displacement.

On November 15, six armed men dressed in black (who did not identify themselves) stormed into the community and started going through people’s homes.  They began asking who the main leaders were, where they lived, how many young people were in the community, and what they did for a living. Although they remained for just an hour, the incursion left the families in a state of tension, fear, and anxiety in the face of a potential new displacement.

The Indigenous reserve is demarcated and clearly marked with fences indicating the prohibition of entry for armed individuals. We are urging that the government consult with residents of the Wounaan community to devise better mechanisms to implement precautionary measures issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to protect their lives and freedom of movement.

One of the significant outcomes of the Peace Accords in 2016 was the installation of the JEP (Special Jurisdiction for Peace), which is a justice component of the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition (SIVJRNR). The JEP functions to investigate, prosecute, and punish the most serious crimes related to the armed conflict that occurred before December 1, 2016, seeking to prioritize victims, clarify the truth, and repair the damage. One of the key partners in the work of the JEP is the civil society organization CSPP (Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners).

Active in the Atlántico Department chapter of CSPP was 27-year-old Nilson de Arco. In July 2025, as he was meeting in a public space with three other human rights defenders to make a recording, a man on a motorcycle approached them. He got down from his motorcycle and shot Nilson de Arco directly. Nilson was rushed to the hospital. After four months of specialized medical attention, he succumbed to his injuries on November 14.

The fatal attack on Nilson de Arco must be considered in the context of the increasing number of threats, harassment, and violence perpetrated against human rights defenders in Colombia.  We urge the government to take the necessary measures to ensure that human rights defenders, community leaders, and civil society organizations can carry out their work without fear of reprisals.

Agricultural workers are being targeted in the Pacific coastal departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca. So far in 2025, at least five sugar industry workers have been murdered and another seven injured. On September 2, security personnel at a sugar mill were intercepted by armed individuals who apparently intended to rob them. They fired gunshots; one worker was seriously injured.  

This month, Jordy Alexis Cárdenas Campo, a member of the sugar cane workers union Sintraicañazucol, had recently been hired by the La Cabaña SA sugar mill. When he was working on November 8, armed men on a motorcycle approached him and shot him multiple times. Despite the efforts of rescue workers and his transfer to a medical center in Puerto Tejada, he died due to the severity of his injuries.

We are urging that authorities in Colombia consult with leadership of Sintraicañazucol and Asocaña (Association of Sugar Cane Growers of Colombia) to devise safety measures for workers in the fields.

When the Peace Agreement was signed with the guerrilla army FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) in November 2016, the government pledged to help over 14,000 former combatants reintegrate into society in exchange for the fighters laying down their weapons. Most went to live in any of 24 camps scattered across Colombia, known as Territorial Spaces for Training and Reintegration (ETCR). But there are risks faced by those who opted to enroll in the formal reintegration process.  Since November 2016, more than 460 former guerrilla combatants have been murdered.  

In the Department of Valle del Cauca, ex-combatant Wilmer Noguera España was leaving school accompanied by a friend in the municipality of Dagua when they were intercepted by unknown individuals. His companion was released, but Wilmer Noguera España was killed.  His body was found in the same area two days later.

Wilmer Noguera España became the 35th signatory of the Peace Agreement assassinated in 2025. One year ago, his brother, Wilmer Noguera España (also an ex-combatant and signatory of the Peace Agreement) was killed in the same municipality. This deadly violence threatens the reintegration process of all former combatants.

November marks nine years since the signing of the Peace Accords between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). But dissident factions of the FARC—as well as other armed groups—continue to wage violence as they vie for control of territories and resources.  Social leaders are especially at risk. Since the beginning of 2025, there has been a killing of a social leader more than once every other day: 174 to date.

In the city of Chaparral, Tolima Department, Julián Rincón Arenas, a member of the Patriotic Union and the Historical Pact,  was deeply committed to defending the rights of his community. On November 17, returning home from several meetings with farmers, he was shot multiple times and died at the scene.  The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman had issued a warning about the risk posed by armed groups in this region, especially for human rights defenders. Julián Rincón Arenas had previously requested protective measures but had not received a response from the government.

Julián Rincón Arenas, ¡presente!