Political violence has claimed the lives of more than 200 former combatants of the FARC-EP in Colombia

Bogota, December 29 (RHC)-- At least five people, including a former combatant of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP) and her youngest daughter, were killed in the Department of Bolívar, Colombia, when members of an armed group broke into a family gathering.

The news was confirmed by the mayor of Montecristo (400 kilometers north of Bogotá), Jairo Hernández Buelvas, who said that once they found out about it, a meeting was convened by the local security council. 

"We are very concerned about information coming from the community of Alto Caribona, regarding a massacre that occurred in a point known as La Honda, jurisdiction of Montecristo on the border with Santa Rosa del Sur."  

"At this moment, a security council has just finished and we have decided to notify the Ombudsman's Office, the International Red Cross, the Secretary of Security of the Government of Bolivar and all the entities that have to do with these issues," said the mayor.

According to Hernandez's statements, the events apparently occurred in an area of very difficult access, and there were apparently confrontations between irregular armed groups in the area.  The mayor said: "A commission from the municipal mayor's office is headed to the village of Villa Uribe, which is the closest village to where the events took place."

"We ask the National Government to support us, because the municipality of Montecristo does not have sufficient logistics to reach the scene of the events.  We call on the Army to transport the mayor's officials by helicopter if possible," he said. 

Peasants from Southern Bolivar and Lower Cauca Antioquia, through a publication on Twitter, ratified that among the victims is Rosa Mendoza, former combatant of the FARC-EP and signatory of the Peace Agreement of 2016, as well as her daughter, a minor.

With Mendoza, and according to data from Indepaz, there are already 248 signatories of the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian State and the then FARC-EP who have been killed in this year that is almost over.

Hermes Osorio Reyes, also a former combatant and member of the current party, the Alternative Revolutionary Force of the Common (Fuerza Revolucionaria Alternativa del Común), denounced that "every day they are assassinating a peace signatory.

"Comrade Rosa Amalia Mendoza Trujillo, known in the guerrilla ranks as Karen Palmera, was recognized for being the creator of the Association of Agricultural and Environmental Housing of Southern Bolivar, since last year she was living in an area with little connectivity".

"There is concern that this slaughter of peace signatories will not stop, there is concern that the agreement is not being fulfilled. It is not possible that after having signed these people have been killed," he said.