Ombudsman Perez on Monday expressed concern about the massacres that have recently taken place across the country.
Ortiz spoke following the murder of 11 people in two separate massacres on Sunday night.
In Montelibano, Cordoba department, members of an illegal armed group reportedly shot indiscriminately at people in the main plaza, killing six, while in Barranquilla four hitmen started shooting at a party, killing five people according to some reports, including a 5-year-old child.
Last week eight massacres took place, in the departments of Cordoba, Norte de Santander, Nariño, Arauca, and Atlantico.
The official declared that he “presses the prosecutor general of the nation and other competent organs of the state to forward in an urgent manner the correspondent investigations to clarify the origins of these massacres and to identify, judge and punish those responsible for the acts of violence.”
In 2009, Colombia saw an increase in its homicide rate to 39 for every 100,000 people, reports El Espectador. Colombia is said to have one of the highest homicide rates in the region, largely due to criminal gangs, formed in part by ex-paramilitaries, who are fighting over drug trafficking routes.