Hitmen kill journalist Cristian Herrera in Cúcuta. Journalist Cristian Herrera Nariño was shot dead by hired gunmen on 6 June in the Quinta Oriental neighbourhood of Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, after being ambushed while visiting relatives. A veteran crime and conflict reporter, former editor of Q’Hubo and reporter for La Opinión, Herrera was widely respected...
An attack with drones carrying explosives left one soldier dead in Norte de Santander.A Colombian soldier was killed and two others were injured after an explosive-laden drone attack attributed to the ELN in the rural community of Los Negritos, in the municipality of Teorama, Norte de Santander. The incident is the latest in a growing...
Twelve soldiers injured in explosive attack on battalion in Riohacha (La Guajira). Twelve Colombian soldiers were injured in an explosive attack near the Cartagena Mechanised Infantry Battalion in Riohacha, La Guajira, on the night of 26 May, in an incident the Colombian military has preliminarily attributed to the ELN. Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez later offered...
Defending our rights: A call to action against Glencore. A coordinated campaign by affected communities and allied organisations, brought together under the coalition Resistencia Activa Ya!, which is calling for stronger international action and accountability against the multinational mining company Glencore. Highlighting allegations that Glencore’s global operations are linked to environmental destruction, water contamination, health...
In May 2026, The Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ) highlighted the importance of Special Jurisdiction for Peace’s (JEP) ruling in the Macro-Case 03, Caribbean Region sub-case, concerning extrajudicial executions. The ruling concluded that, between January 2002 and July 2005, the Popa Battalion killed and forcibly disappeared 135 people, who were then falsely presented as killed in...
Second Follow-up Report on Recommendations: Situation of human rights defenders and social leaders in Colombia. This report published by Indepaz within the framework of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), assesses progress since the 2016 Peace Agreement and concludes that serious structural problems persist in the protection of these groups, despite some institutional advances....
Hernando Chindoy, indigenous leader and human rights defender: “What shaped my path was the violence we suffered as a people”. Hernando Chindoy, an Indigenous leader from the Inga people, explains how his lifelong commitment to human rights and environmental defence was shaped by the violence, discrimination, and cultural repression experienced by his community. As a...
Wave of violence in Buenaventura leaves 23 dead and raises alert about war between groups. There has been a sharp escalation of violence in Buenaventura, Colombia, where at least 23 people were killed between February and March 2026, most of them young men aged 17 to 30. Prompting a warning from the Ombudsman’s Office about...
The UN says that Petro’s government has failed to protect human rights defenders. A UN report has warned that the government of Gustavo Petro has failed to curb violence against human rights defenders in Colombia despite its initial commitments, noting that at least 410 social leaders were killed between 2022 and 2025, with a surge...
On 8 March2026, Colombia held congressional elections, the first major vote of the year ahead of the presidential election at the end of May 2026, with a second round in June if necessary. In the Senate, the left-wing party of President Gustavo Petro, the Pacto Historico (Historic Pact), emerged as the largest political force, winning 25 of the 103 seats. The second-largest party was the Centro Democratico (Democratic Centre), the party founded by a former...
