Three indigenous Colombian minga leaders have been assassinated in the last week. “Minga” is a mobilization of local indigenous people’s. Thousands have participated in a month of marches and blockades as part of a minga protest in southwest Colombia, closing the Pan-American Highway for weeks.
The most recent assassination was of Jhon Jader Cayapu, a community leader from the Cauca province. Cayapu was found dead on Monday
This wave of assassinations started happening after pamphlets signed by the “Aguilas Negras,” a right-wing paramilitary organization, were found throughout the region offering $30,000 for the killing of indigenous leaders. The pamphlets appeared a day after Colombia’s President Ivan Duque refused to meet with the organizers.
According to the national indigenous organization ONIC, 50 indigenous, farmer, and Afro Colombian leaders have been assassinated throughout the country this year.
In Corinto, a municipality with a population little more than 30,000, there have been 29 assassinations so far this year.
Photo: “El camino lo hacemos juntos” by ___GDM___! is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
ANARCHIMEDIA 