Some 50 Leaders Assassinated in Colombia since Santos Assumed Power

(Translated by Buddy Bell, a CSN Volunteer Translator. Edited by Teresa Welsh. CSN's Volunteer Editor.)

 

From the EFE Agency in Spain–

 

Bogotá, 9 Nov (EFE).- Some 50 political and social leaders have been assassinated in Colombia in the first 90 days of Juan Manuel Santos' administration, This was denounced today by an opposition party, the Alternative Democratic Pole (PDA).

 

The victims are leftist politicians, unionists, social leaders, farm workers, indigenous, and youth leaders, as well as human rights defenders, members of the homosexual community and children, according to PDA president Clara López, in a report that she presented before the National Executive Committee (CEN).

 

The opposition leader spoke in a party press conference which declared a humanitarian crisis with "verifiable estimates" and confirmed cases, all in a context of threats and killings, on which the PDA will make "a continuous detailed account."

 

This work, she added, will also be appreciated by "the vulnerable population that can't count on sufficient guarantees from the government to protect their lives."

 

"Colombia has fallen victim to an extermination plan against the social sectors and the population is in a vulnerable position without the government authority reacting to guarantee life, honor and dignity to these victims," emphasized López.

 

The PDA president highlighted that the death threats are very worrying, given that the ones that have already been reported "show a situation of relentless harassment and anguish throughout the country."

 

Santos took power on August 7 in the name of the Unity Party, a party he formed in 2005 to promote the reelection of then-president Álvaro Uribe in 2006, who served two terms in office, from 2002 to 2010.

 

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