The murderers of indigenous leader Miguel Ángel Muchavisoy sentenced to 20 years in prison

For the crimes of aggravated homicide and illegal carrying of firearms, Yefrey Berrío Mosquera and Luis Carlos Álvarez were convicted of 20 years and six months in prison. They were charged with being accused of carrying out the murder of the indigenous taita Miguel Ángel Muchavisoy, a renowned leader among the indigenous communities in Putumayo, who was finalized on August 5, 2021 the municipality of Sibundoy, in the south of the country.

The Attorney General's Office reported that the two men reached a preagreement with that body, where they accepted their participation in the murder of the traditional doctor of the village Kamestá, who was killed by gunfire with silencer.

The prosecutor recalled that the arrest of these two persons occurred 24 hours after the murder was recorded and since then they have been deprived of their liberty in a prison center.

“The test material obtained showed that Yefrey Berrío Mosquera and Luis Carlos Álvarez moved from Cali (Valle del Cauca) to Sibundoy. For four days they followed the indigenous leader and, finally, they carried out the illegal action,” they reported in the Prosecutor's Office.

According to the investigation, Muchavisoy was at his home around noon when the men entered his house and shot him.

The taita is remembered among indigenous communities for its leadership and healing work carried out in the Cabildo Biya of the municipality of Sibundoy in Putumayo.

The indigenous leader suffered three bullet wounds and was able to be helped by his relatives and the community, but due to the seriousness of his injuries he died when he was transferred to a health center in that area of the country.

“We did not have any reports of a threat to the taita, if we are aware of threats to other leaders in different areas, but not particularly towards him. We are facing the pandemic, the effects of winter and now the murder of one of our leaders,” said Miguel Mabisoy, another taita in that community.

The members of that indigenous community stated in a letter that they condemned the barbarism against indigenous peoples in the country and called for justice for this new act of violence.

“He was an active member of the community, practiced traditional medicine, participated in different political arenas, was sheriff, mayor and projected himself as governor,” Mabisoy added.

15 social leaders were killed during March of this year

The Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz) reported that during the first quarter of 2022 different crimes directed at social leaders, ex-combatants and civilians in Colombia, mostly in the departments of Cauca, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca, Nariño and Putumayo.

The report reveals that during the month of March, 15 homicides against social leaders were recorded throughout Colombia. It also emphasizes that, since the signing of the peace agreement between the National Government and the extinct FARC guerrillas, 1,334 murders of these representatives, between men and women, have been recorded.

These murders occurred in the departments of Bolivar, Boyacá, Choco, Caqueta, Cauca, Putumayo, Norte de Santander, San Andrés Isla and Tolima.

According to Indepaz figures, during the third month of 2022 there were 9 massacres that left a figure of 36 fatalities, three more compared to the same month in 2021, in which 9 massacres were also recorded but in which 33 victims were killed.

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