According to EFE and other national media, they assassinate an activist for the defense of the Pacific Ocean. Colombian-Spanish Juana Perea Plata, a resident of Nuquí, Chocó, was found on the beach with a shot to the forehead on the morning of Thursday, October 29.
The professional diver married to a firefighter from the United States had established in the vicinity of the Pacific Ocean in 30 hectares of forest, Selva where she had built an Eco Hotel, the activist had created the Gulf of Tribugá Costurero, a community project that reached the support from private business, and brought together more than 100 women who are trained in using domestic and industrial machines to drive a new economy based on clothing. Whose job in recent months was to manufacture reusable masks to avoid polluting the beaches of the Pacific Ocean.
“With great nostalgia today we learned about her murder. This leaves a very bad message for the area and for security here in Chocó ”, Luis Perea, president of the Institutional and Community Group of Artisanal Fishing (GICPA), assured in Rural Week.
For his part, Mayor Gamboa affirmed that “the municipality’s security situation is very complex,” since they have a weak presence of the State and even pointed out that until recently, the municipality had only 9 police officers for a community of more than of 6,000 inhabitants.
“I talked to her continuously because of the role she played; She had not told me that she had threats. She told me about her concern about some pamphlets (which were circulated) recently in various municipalities of the country but no particular threat, ”Gamboa told EFE.
According to Infobae, Cabe el Chocó is currently experiencing a strong presence of illegal armed groups that have increased violence in the region, which is why President Iván Duque visited the capital of the department on October 19.
The president evaluated strategies to mitigate the delicate situation, such as strengthening the presence of the public force with social investment and the arrival of 50 new police officers, to avoid the recruitment of young people by criminal gangs.
On the other hand, Luis Perea affirmed that an emissary from the Mayor’s Office, high command of the Navy and the National Police are holding a security council on the case with the mayor, Yefer Arley Gamboa, to establish the steps to follow in the investigation.
“One is dismayed because the security situation is very complex. Last week they also assassinated Mr. Fernando Vega, the wave of violence has been growing in recent days, “added Luis Perea to Infobae.
According to Mayor Gamboa, Juana Perea was working on tourism issues with the community of Nuquí, a municipality located about 50 minutes by plane from Quibdó and known for being one of the best places in the world for whale watching.
“Juana Perea had been leading a tourism issue; I had been working now, on the issue of covid, with protection issues and biosafety protocols for tourist inns, and was the leader of the hoteliers’ union in the municipality of Nuquí, ”confirmed Gamboa.
In the last hours, a letter that according to the Valle del Cauca journalist, Ronald Mayorga, the mayor of Nuquí sent to the municipality’s police in recent days:
Letter from Mayor Nuquí to the Commander of the Chocó Police
According to Eugenio Mosquera, social leader of Chocó to Caracol Radio: at least six illegal armed groups are present in the territory and are fighting drug trafficking routes. “If we were not in a pandemic, the dead would be many more.”
#AlertaTribuga
His murder was the result of a process that had already been going on for months since Juana had organized the population to oppose the port of Tribugá. Right on her social networks, she was working hard against the project. She posted messages like “#AlertaTribuga. To declare this mega-project as a project of public utility would imply the expropriation of territories, this violates the collective and territorial rights of the Nuquí communities # NoPuertoDeTribugá #NuquiDefiendeSuTerritorio ”.
In addition, he constantly denounced the abandonment of rural areas and the power held by the armed forces: “Bacrim, more drug traffickers, more absolute abandonment and neglect of the state, equal to shitty conditions for those who voted Yes to the end of violence. Damn the social injustice of this country, damn the arrogance of the city dwellers who are unaware of the realities of a large part of this country … ”.
