Dear Sirs:
We are writing to call for accountability for the assassinations of two social leaders in Putumayo Department: Lirnedy Soto and Jhon Fredy Muchavisoy.
In Puerto Caicedo municipality on February 1, Lirnedy Soto, a community leader of La Pradera village, was forcibly taken to an unknown destination. On February 4, his body was found with several gunshot wounds on a road leading from La Pradera to La Arizona. Lirnedy Soto served as treasurer of the Community Action Board of La Pradera village of Puerto Caicedo, Putumayo.
In Puerto Asís municipality, the small town of Piñuña Blanco has become the scene of constant confrontations and territorial disputes between the Carolina Ramírez Front of the Estado Mayor Central (a FARC dissident group) and Border Commandos (attached to the Second Marquetalia, another FARC dissident group). At least two social leaders have been killed in Piñuña Blanco in the past two months. On December 3, Phanor Guazaquillo, governor of the Cabildo Nasa Kwesx Kiwe Chorrolargo, was murdered (cf our letter 16 JAN 2024). At 9:30am on February 3, community leader Jhon Fredy Muchavisoy, age 27, was forcibly taken from his home in Dos Quebradas village and killed less than a hundred meters from his home. Until recently, the young social leader had served as president of the Community Action Board of Dos Quebradas village of Puerto Asís, Putumayo.
We urge you to:
- thoroughly investigate the murders of Jhon Fredy Muchavisoy and Lirnedy Soto, publish the results, and bring those responsible to justice
- consult with community leaders in Puerto Asís and Puerto Caicedo to offer them protection measures, in accordance with their wishes
- move forward on a Global Territorial Peace with a Global Humanitarian Agreement that leads to a multilateral ceasefire.
Sincerely,
Brian J. Stefan Szittai Christine L. Stonebraker-Martínez
Co-Coordinators
copies:
Luis Fernando Velasco Chaves, Minister of Interior ~ via email
Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia, Ambassador of Colombia to the US ~ via email, US mail
José Luis Caballero Ochoa, Rapporteur for Colombia , Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) ~ via email, US mail
UN: Juliette De Rivero, Representative in Colombia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ~ via email
Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz / Inter-Church Justice & Peace Commission ~ via email
US Embassy: Francisco Palmieri (Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim); Adam Levy (human rights) ~ via email
US State Department: Desk Officer for Colombia ~ via email
US Senators from Ohio: Brown & Vance ~ via email
US Representatives from Ohio: Beatty, Brown, Jordan, Joyce, Kaptur, Latta, Miller, Sykes ~ via email
