The community of the department of Nariño is shocked after, on the morning of Saturday, February 11, the indigenous leader Marcos López Enríquez out murdered while moving from Mallama municipality toward ipiales.
Crisis in Nariño due to a landslide on the Pan-American Highway: food such as milk, potatoes and brown sugar is dammed
Some companies have had to close due to the losses generated by the clogging that is already a month old. The government would take several more weeks to deliver the corridors promised to ease mobility
According to the authorities, López Enríquez was traveling to Ipiales to participate in the permanent regional consultation table for indigenous peoples. Grass and keelsingaswhen he was approached by a group of armed men on the sector known as the vervainin the jurisdiction of the municipality of mallama.
The newspaper Time learned that the indigenous leader received a shot in his head and, despite the fact that he managed to be transferred to the hospital of the municipality of tuquerresDue to the severity of his injuries passed away.
Pan-American Highway: cargo and transportation sector would be the most affected by the collapse
In addition to food, companies dedicated to the mobility of people and products are the ones that have suffered the most from the contingency. The department of Nariño already reports billionaire losses
Once the facts are known, the Governor of Nariño, Jhon Rojasexpressed his rejection of the crime of López Enríquez, while requesting the authorities to begin the pertinent investigations to find the whereabouts of the people who perpetrated the murder.
“We reject the murder of taita Marcos López, legal representative of the AICO party, the bullets seek to silence those who work for the communities”said the regional president.
The victim, in addition to being the representative of the Movement of Indigenous Authorities of Colombia (AICO) in the department of Nariño, a position that according to the newspaper Time took office on December 20, 2022, it had also been Governor of the Gran Mallama Reservation in 2021 and councilor of the municipality of Mallama in 2019.
One of the first politicians to speak out after the death of the indigenous leader was the Senator of the Republic, Polivio Leandro Rosaleswho stated that López Enríquez was one of the most representative leaders of the department of Nariño.
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Several merchants have decided not to open the businesses anymore because there are no sales or supplies to stock the premises
“We express our rejection of this act of violence against our peoples, our leaders and we demand urgent measures from the authorities to investigate those responsible”said the congressman.
The fact did not go unnoticed by the Senator Aida Quilcuewho commented: “the south of the country is in humanitarian emergency due to the conflictI ask the National Government to deal with the situation immediately.”
He Colombian President Gustavo Petrohe was not oblivious to the situation either and, through his Twitter account, he remembered him as one of the leaders who accompanied him during his presidential campaign.
“Taita Marcos López, leader of the AICO indigenous party, supported me in my presidential campaign. He has been killed. I expect the greatest possible reward for information to find their direct and intellectual assassins”, he trilled the Colombian head of state.
The message of solidarity from the national president was also supported by the Vice President of Colombia, Francia Márquez who, like the head of state, used his social networks to reject the crime of the indigenous leader of the department of Nariño.
“We reject the murder of Marcos López, legal representative of #AICO. Great social leader and a tireless fighter for the rights of indigenous peoples,” said Marquez.
Immediately afterwards, the Vice President of Colombia asked the General Prosecutor of the Nation “Investigate quickly. We will not allow those who contribute to peace to continue to be taken away from us”.
For her part, the Ombudsman issued the Early warning 004/22through which it indicated that “there are impacts derived from threats to sectors that hold leadership and other behaviors that violate rights that can be extended to the electoral context, for example, threats to authorities and ethnic leaders, by illegal armed groups ”.
Although the authorities still do not know who or what groups were behind the crime against the indigenous leader, the Ombudsman recalled that the National Liberation Army (ELN) and “other local bands”.
