Soldiers on trial for the murder of indigenous leader

Colombia news - Car Legarda

Seven Colombian soldiers were called to trial on Monday for the 2008 assassination of indigenous leader Jose Edwin Legarda Vasquez.

Legarda was killed when the members of the army’s Jose Hilario Lopez Battalion opened fire on the car he was driving. It is suspected that the assassination, which took place in December 2008, was in fact an attempt on the life of Legarda’s wife, indigenous leader Aida Quilcue.

An arrest warrant issued by a judge resulted in the capture of the suspects on May 1, 2009.

Legarda’s wife Quilcue is one of Colombia’s most famous indigenous leaders and leader of the CRIC, the indigenous organization in the Cauca department.

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