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Communal leaders Miguel Arrieta, Alfonso Medina, Milton Rocha & Jeison Jacome were all murdered during 2023 in Colombia's Caribbean region.
Article written by Maria Paula Martinez, Wendy Sarmiento & Sharon Sepulveda
Have you ever heard about community action boards or communal leaders? Who are they? What do they do? Why are they so persecuted and threatened in Colombia?
Communal leaders are often members of community action boards and are direct representatives of a community or a neighborhood that defends problems before the JAC (Junta de Acción Comunal or Community Action Board). According to the mayor’s office of Barranquilla (n.d) "The community action board is a civic, social, and community organization of social management, non-profit, solidarity nature, with legal status and its own assets" meaning that although they are representatives and fight for the rights and inequalities for their communities, they are external entities from the government. These leaders play a vital role as they are responsible for bringing the concerns and needs of their community to the attention of local, regional and national authorities. However, this role often puts such leaders in a vulnerable situation, especially in contexts where there are conflicts of interest with both legal and illegal actors. The illegal actors violate the leaders for economic reasons because they feel threatened in relation to the illegal businesses from which they obtain money. Within the context of violence against social leaders in Colombia since the 2016 peace deal with the FARC, communal leaders and members of the JAC have been one of the most affected demographics. This report will present the cases of social leaders belonging to a JAC or who were leaders in their communities or neighborhoods and who were murdered on the Colombian Caribbean coast in recent years.
Violence against social leaders in Colombia is a big problem to solve for the government. Social leaders are fearful of violence or disappearance because of illegal groups in the area where they are working in a specific field. There are a lot of examples of social leaders who have been killed. Milton Rocha Peña is one such example: he was a social leader murdered on February 18th, 2023, in San Sebastian, Magdalena in northern Colombia. The department of Magdalena is no stranger to the systematic murder of social leaders; the Clan del Golfo (formerly known as the Urabeños and now identifying themselves as the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia, AGC) are present in this area. The location of these six municipalities has strategic importance for three reasons: it is the beginning of the Bajo Magdalena, the point of confluence between Magdalena Medio and the Caribbean coast, and therefore a key point for the illegal economies of drug trafficking and illegal gold trafficking. The complex system of rivers, canals and swamps in this region is ideal for the clandestine transportation of illegal goods. Milton was a leader who defended social and political causes and was also a farmer who helped his community to plant their own food. However, he had also denounced the planting of illegal crops and it appears that those involved in such practices killed him at the door of his house to prevent more knowledge being revealed in relation to these issues. It is important to mention that Milton had already asked for state protection as he was certain that he could be killed, but the aid never arrived. Milton represents just one of the 27 (at the time of writing) social leaders murdered in Magdalena since 2016. Unfortunately, such circumstances, and such cases, are far too common throughout the Caribbean region.
The second case to report on is that of Jeison Jacome, the youngest social leader in this report, who was murdered at the age of just 21. Jeison was president of the community action board of his neighborhood in Pailitas, Cesar. On March 10th, 2023, Jeison was the victim of a failed kidnapping attempt, which left him on the verge of death due to the gunshot wounds he received in the failed attack. Although he was able to reach the hospital, he could not be saved. This case is particularly important because it shows us that even young people who begin to work as social leaders are at risk of being killed and that the dreams of someone as young as Jeison can end up costing their lives for defending his people from injustices and irregularities. Jeison is just one of 28 social leaders to have been murdered in Cesar since November 2016. Another leader targeted in the department, and the third case looked at in this text, was Alfonso Medina. Alfonso was a leader who worked for more than 20 years in Valledupar, the capital of Cesar, and he was president of the community action board of his community. He fought against injustice, animal abuse, drug trafficking and theft of funding for social works. This case is not the exception because like the previous cases he was killed by gunmen in a crime that has yet to be solved. Sadly, after so many years of serving the community and asking for state protection, clearly certain actors felt that their own interests should take precedent over the life of someone who defended his people. The cases of Jeison and Alfonso demonstrate the threats faced by leaders in both rural and urban areas of Cesar. Unfortunately, this is the reality throughout the Caribbean region.
The fourth and final case in this report is that of Miguel Angel Arrieta. Miguel was murdered in Soledad, Atlántico. This social leader was known locally as the "Pibe Soledeño" given his similarities to the former Colombian footballer, Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama, and he belonged to the political party "Pacto Historico". Miguel was also a defender of the interests of his community. Arrieta Mendoza was 51 years old and a leader in his community. He was a candidate for the municipal council in the upcoming regional elections, after being endorsed by the Pacto Historico and the Union Patriotica movements. The facts have not yet been clarified but one cannot rule out that Miguel’s political involvement was a factor in his murder. The Pacto Historico is a party that counts certain sectors and interest groups as opponents, while the Unión Patriotica movement has a long history of political persecution against its members. What is known is that Miguel was assassinated in broad daylight when he received 5 gunshots at a business locale. Miguel is one of 15 social leaders to have been murdered in the department of Atlantico since 2016. His murder is another story of how things like this can happen in a big city during the day, showing that in Colombia social leaders are not safe anywhere and that they need security from the state as soon as possible to avoid tragedies like these.
Murders like those mentioned above are sadly far too common. According to Indepaz, there were 127 social leaders murdered in Colombia by the end of September 2023. In 2022 there was a regrettable record of murders of social leaders and human rights defenders, with thehe Ombudsman’s Office recording a total of 215 murders of social leaders and human rights defenders in the national territory during that year, making it the year with the highest number of cases since 2016. A total of 1,542 social leaders were killed between 2016 and October 2023 (Indepaz). In 2016, 133 were killed, in 2017 the figure reached 126, in 2018 the record was 178, in 2019 it was 134. By 2020, the figure rose to 182 and in 2021 it reached 145 fatalities. The departments where the most murders of social leaders occurred were Nariño, Cauca, Putumayo, Chocó, Bolívar and Norte de Santander. The type of leadership that was most affected was that of communal leaders, indigenous leaders, community leaders, peasants or agrarian leaders, Afro-descendants, and trade union activists. These figures coincide with the areas of the country where there is little to no true government and institutional presence and those who exercise control are illegal armed groups and organized crime organizations. This affects not only thousands of families but entire communities that are left without people fighting for their rights; social leaders register people’s concerns; they are their spokesmen and those who dedicate their lives to work for a country where human rights are not universally respected. In many cases these deaths are also due to disputes over their lands and the protection of natural resources that are exploited by illegal groups. In the Caribbean region, there have been 225 (at the time of writing) social leaders murdered since 2016, with Córdoba (68) and Bolívar (39) being the departments most affected. However, when focusing on the figures, it is important to remember that there is a person behind every number. People like Milton, Jeison, Alfonso and Miguel. In addition to a leader murdered, these crimes make victims of their families and their communities.
In conclusion, these cases are a clear example of the situation faced by social leaders. All cases have a correlation; in these cases, they were all community leaders, and they were murdered in the same cruel way. Likewise, several of them had asked the State for protection, which demonstrates that the State must treat these cases rigorously, putting them at the center of the problems that exist. This is highly problematic, and it is the State's duty to protect the human rights of these social leaders. The State cannot continue allowing mafias, or criminal groups, both urban and rural, to attack these defenders. Finally, the Colombian people must have profound respect for social leaders, because they are exposed to different atrocious circumstances and these leaders have such a positive role in society; that of being defenders of human rights in a context where these are frequently violated. Social leaders are the voice of those who are not heard, and in many regions of the country where the government is simply not present, they are the ones who fight for social change, giving the people of their region confidence, hope, enthusiasm, and commitment. They promote development, defend the environment, demand crop substitution, encourage the effective participation of citizens, work to achieve peace and strengthen the social fabric, fight against illegal economies, and carry out citizen oversight. They are democracy in action, and they are being murdered for it.
References
Juntas de Acción comunal |. (n. d). https://www.barranquilla.gov.co/participacion-ciudadana/juntas-de-accion-comunal
LÍDERES SOCIALES, DEFENSORES DE DD. HH y FIRMANTES DE ACUERDO ASESINADOS EN 2023 – Indepaz. (2023). https://indepaz.org.co/lideres-sociales-defensores-de-dd-hh-y-firmantes-de-acuerdo-asesinados-en-2023/
Iguarán, A. (2023). “Tengo miedo, me pueden matar”: líder campesino días antes de ser asesinado. EL HERALDO. https://www.elheraldo.co/magdalena/magdalena-lider-campesino-asesinado-milton-rocha-pena-habia-alertado-sus-allegados-sobre
Bohórquez, C. (2023). Asesinan al líder social Jeison Jácome en Pailitas, Cesar. EL HERALDO. https://www.elheraldo.co/cesar/asesinan-al-lider-social-jeison-jacome-en-pailitas-cesar-984843
Vesga, L. D. (2023). “Una persona como el Pibe no se consigue más”: Vecinos de Miguel Arrieta. EL HERALDO. https://www.elheraldo.co/judicial/pibe-soledeno-muerto-tiros-y-vecinos-piden-que-caso-no-quede-impune-986491
El Heraldo (2023). Envían a la cárcel a presunto asesino de líder comunal Alfonso Medina. EL HERALDO. https://www.elheraldo.co/cesar/envian-la-carcel-presunto-asesino-de-lider-comunal-alfonso-medina-en-valledupar-997359
Restrepo, M. J., Galvis, M., Restrepo, M. J., & Galvis, M. (2023). Las caras de los 77 líderes sociales asesinados en lo que va de 2023. La Silla Vacía. https://www.lasillavacia.com/silla-nacional/las-caras-de-los-77-lideres-sociales-asesinados-en-lo-que-va-de-2023/
Defensoria del Pueblo, Colombia (2023) El 2022 marcó un lamentable récord de homicidios a líderes sociales y personas defensoras de derechos Humanos.
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