On the evening of 8 January 2015, the president of one of our partner organizations in Colombia was assassinated. While he was fortunately not injured, the unknown men shot his driver twice in the head. The attack did not come as a complete surprise, as a board member of Unidad de Organizaciones Afrocaucanas (UOAFROC) had previously been named as a military target.
Our partner organization Unidad de Organizaciones Afrocaucanas (UOAFROC) has been campaigning for the rights of the Afro-Colombian minority in Colombia for many years. The dangerous nature of this commitment became apparent again at the beginning of this year. On January 8, 2015, the president of UOAFROC, Arie Aragon, was assassinated. On his way home, two unknown men fired three shots at him and his driver in Villa Rica. Two shots hit his driver, Jesus Andrade, in the head. Andrade then had to be operated on in hospital and is now out of danger. Aragon escaped unharmed.
Government intervention called for
In a press release, UOAFROC called on the relevant authorities to take the necessary protective measures and take action against the terrorization of the Afro-Colombian minority by armed groups. The background to the attack is apparently the work of UOAFROC in the Afro-Colombian settlement areas. Despite being protected by the Colombian constitution, they are being exploited for mining. UOAFROC campaigns for the land rights of the Afro-Colombian population.
Appointed as military targets
This attack was preceded by a death threat last fall. At the end of September 2014, the paramilitary organization Comando Urbanos de Los Rastrojos sent an announcement to various organizations and individuals that they had now been declared military targets. One of the targets mentioned is on the board of UOAFROC. In the same announcement, the commando asked not to stand in the way of progress in mining…
If you are interested in more news and want to stay up to date, visit our newsroom or subscribe to our newsletter.
