Colombia’s interior minister says authorities have identified six members of illegal armed groups responsible for killing leaders of displaced communities.
Since the inauguration of the government of President Juan Manuel Santos in August last year, more than 20 leaders of farmers trying to reclaim stolen land have been murdered, without a single arrest.
According to Minister German Vargas Lleras, the suspects are now “military targets of the armed forces.”
“The arrest and prosecution of these six detected persons involved in these murders has become a strategic target, because it is important to set a precedent (…), for those who have been involved in the murders that have taken place,” said the minister.
According to the minister, authorities are doing everything to make sure that the Victims and Land Restitution law, which restores land to victims of forced displacement, takes effect as planned on January 1, and that those reclaiming stolen land enjoy the necessary protection by the security forces.
