Colombia’s president Wednesday offered a reward of $110,000 for information leading to the capture of those who “threaten and murder leaders of victims and re-claimants of land.”
Speaking in the northern Cordoba department, President Juan Manuel Santos also gave a reminder of the $55,000 reward for information about Tuesday’s murder of land restitution activist, Ever Cordero Oviedo.
Cordero’s murder is the latest in a spate of threats and violence against those involved in reclaiming land dispossessed during the country’s long-running internal conflict.
BACKGROUND: Land restitution activist assassinated in north Colombia
The president also announced the appointment of a police general to draw up a plan to protect the land restitution leaders, and to pursue those who seek to sabotage the process.
Santos said that at least eight people have already been identified as perpetrators of the threats and violence and will appear on wanted posters as high-value targets for pursuit and capture.
“We will continue to pursue all those who want to disrupt the process towards a fairer country,” said the president.
Sources:
- Recompensa de 200 millones de pesos a quien denuncie a autores de amenazas y asesinatos de líderes de víctimas y reclamantes de tierras (Presidential press release)
