José Victor Ceballos Espinayu: The indigenous teacher and activist slain for defending the rights of

Jose Victor Ceballos Epinayu was one of the many social leaders who was killed in Colombia this year. He was teacher and activist from La Guajira, as well as being a very active member of the NGO “Nacion Wayuu”, a non-profit indigenous organization with the mission of defending Human Rights. Unfortunately, this work has led to their members facing numerous threats from illegal groups in the region. Jose Victor´s is a significant case because it highlights the atmosphere of disinformation surrounding the killing of social leaders in Colombia with some sources appearing to cover up the motives for his murder by giving the impression his killing was simply another case of insecurity in Colombia. To understand the context surrounding his murder, it is important to analyse the situation in La Guajira and ask ourselves the following questions. What is happening to its inhabitants? What issues is “Nacion Wayuu” bringing to the forefront? Is the government doing something to protect the lives of these leaders? These are the matters that are addressed in this article in order to place a spotlight on the murky depths of the issue.

José Victor was a teacher at the “Centro Etnoeducativo No. 12 – Murray”, a school with an emphasis on the local indigenous customs. He was called “el mono” by people who were close to him. His Uncle, Edwin Ceballos Sijona, is a traditional authority of the aljote community and an active member of the aforementioned movement Nación Wayuu, one of the NGOs that have sued the government and urged the international community to act effectively in response to the killings and aggressions that have been committed against social leaders and the peasant community, as well as other marginalized sectors such as Indigenous groups and Afro-Colombian communities. As a result of their involvement with Nación Wayuu and the work carried out with that NGO, both José Victor and Edwin had appeared in threatening pamphlets in 2018, which meant Edwin had received protective measures from the “Unidad Nacional de Protección” (National Protection Unit). However, José Victor did not want to receive protection because his core social function focused on teaching, and he felt this would be complicated by having armed protection. His decision would have fatal consequences. José Victor was killed on February 19th 2019 in Riohacha, La Guajira (Colombia) when he left home on his way to work. He was attacked with a firearm by a man riding on a motorcycle, and shot to death despite the best efforts of a group of neighbours who tried to help save him by taking him to the hospital. According to initial reports, the motive for the attack on José Victor was because he had a “top of the range” telephone. However, given the threats against him due to his involvement in activism as we mentioned previously, this seems like a convenient “smokescreen” used to distract attention from the crude reality facing social leaders in the country. To understand this skepticism, it is helpful to understand the dynamics in José Victor´s home region.

La Guajira is a desert peninsula located on the shores of the Caribbean Sea in the north-east of Colombia. It is a region rich in resources such as, gas, coal and salt; these resources are both a blessing and a curse because they are also the reason why multinationals and the Colombian government itself are exploiting these commodities to gain economic profits. The exploitation of these mineral resources has led to the displacement of several indigenous communities, forcing them to leave their ancestral territories. Furthermore, the mining activities have also diverted their sources of freshwater, an issue which contributes directly to the issue of malnutrition facing the Wayuu indigenous community and their children; greatly impacting on the rights, lives and dignity of the indigenous community. Nación Wayu has certain objectives as they seek to defend the human and collective rights of ethnic minorities or to fight against the violation of the universal rights of children, especially Wayuu indigenous children. This work places the activists involved in a precarious situation, given the wave of violence against social leaders and human rights defenders in Colombia.

Although the website of the presidency of the republic states that during the current government (headed by president Ivan Duque) the deaths of social leaders have been reduced, every day the country awakes with news reports on the deaths of social leaders, and increasingly indigenous leaders. Diana Sanchez, director of the rights organization “Minga”, expressed that within the movement “Defend the Peace”, there are three key demands on the State. One: That the peace agreements be fully complied with. Two: to solve the problem of the substitution of illicit crops, which generates favorable contexts for social leaders to be assaulted or murdered. Three: the definitive closure of the conflict by political means as the best way to clean up the territory. Unfortunately, what the government has really been doing is almost nothing to stop this systematic murder of social leaders. The lack of action of the justice system to sanction these cases and of state agencies to effectively address the early warnings issued by the Ombudsman’s Office speaks volumes for how committed the government is to stopping these systematic killings. There is also the elephant in the room of how the interests of illegal armed groups holding a monopoly of violence in marginalized regions of the country (such as La Guajira) frequently overlap with the interests of multinational mining companies to carry out extraction practices without the interference of local activists who are resistant to such activities in their territories.

Finally, it is necessary to point out that , although the specific case of José Victor Ceballos did not receive enough media attention and that there may even have been an attempt to muddy the water over the real  reason of his death, it is necessary for everyone to know what is going on in the country, and especially (in this case) the issues being faced by communities in La Guajira, where there is such a serious absence of state presence. Being better informed will help us to understand the reason why social leaders are fighting and why they are being assassinated. It is in this way, by reading articles such as this and by using social media to spread their message that we can help to support leaders like José Victor in their struggle. 

*Article written by Valentina Nieto, Aura Ripoll, Suzan Villanueva and Dayana Viloria