One social leader in Colombia has been killed every other day on average since the beginning of 2020. So far 84 social leaders have been murdered.

The latest victim, as COVID-19 lockdown continues, is Uenseslao Guerrero, community leader, who was killed when armed men entered his house in the southwestern department of Cauca.

The mayor of Mercaderes, Fernando Diaz, has called the local and national government urging them to put a stop to the killings in the department and to protect the lives of its citizens, especially those working as human rights defenders. 

Guerrero is the fifth death in two days in the area. On Wednesday, Community leader Alvaro Narvaez and three members of his family were killed by armed men as well. 

As the systematic killing of social leaders in Colombia continues, Guerrero’s death is the 84th in 2020. 

According to a report from the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz), more than 710 social leaders have been killed in Colombia, after the signing of the peace agreement in November 2016.

"Colombia is the country with the highest rate of killings of human rights defenders," United Nations Special Rapporteur Michel Forst warned in his report presented back in March. 

The UN representative, who visited the South American nation in the late months of 2018 after a governmental invitation, highlighted the impunity covering the murders of social leaders and the lack of administrative preventive measures against the crimes.