Alleged perpetrators of crimes against social leaders in Antioquia and La Guajira were brought before justice

Prosecutors belonging to the Special Investigation Unit (Unidad Especial de Investigación) brought two people before justice since they would be involved in the murders of three social leaders, that took place in Remedios (Antioquia) and San Juan del Cesar (La Guajira).

Murder of peasant leader

The Attorney General’s Office obtained evidence that proves the alleged responsibility of Joan Alexis Calle García, alias La Criatura, in the murder of the peasant leader, Elmer Lenin Guerra Castro; and the kidnapping and torture of Yuliana Liceth Galeano Luján, secretary of the Communal Action Committee in the rural area of El Carmen, in Remedios (Antioquia).

On August 18, 2022, this man and other alleged members of a substructure of ‘Clan del Golfo’, arrived in El Diamante rural area, in Remedios, and took two victims against their will and subjected them to cruel treatment. On the next day, the woman was released, while the peasant leader was taken to an unpopulated area and was attacked with firearms until he died.

Due to these events, the Prosecutor’s Office charged alias La Criatura with aggravated homicide, simple kidnapping, torture, aggravated conspiracy to commit a crime; and manufacturing, trafficking and possession of firearms or ammunition.

The defendant did not plead guilty to the charges and must serve a sentence in prision.

Crime against a human rights defender in La Guajira

At the request of a prosecutor from the Special Investigation Unit (Unidad Especial de Investigación UEI), a judge imposed a prison sentence on Astolfo Luis Martínez Rico, for his alleged participation in the crime of the social leader, Javier Segundo Gámez Hinojosa, which took place on December 14, 2022, in San Juan del Cesar (La Guajira).

The victim belonged to the association named Asociación Agropecuaria Internacional  (AGROIN) and was part of the Board of Directors of the Federación Nacional de cultivadores, artesanos y procesadores de fique (FENALFIQUE). During the investigation, it was revealed that the victim had been attacked by Martínez Rico, who got out of a vehicle, entered the victim’s house and shot him several times.

Due to these facts, he was charged with aggravated homicide, theft; and manufacturing, trafficking and possession of firearms or ammunition.

The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out criminal investigations within the Office of the Attorney General. By the time this communication is disclosed, the legal status of the people mentioned is still pending to be resolved by the competent judicial authority, always under the presumption of innocence contemplated by Article 29 of the Political Constitution and Article 7 of Law 906 of 2004.