00:00For the fourth consecutive year, Colombia is the country where the most environmental leaders have been murdered in the world.
00:06During 2025, 39 people who defended the territory lost their lives.
00:11Of these, almost half were indigenous.
00:14This was shown in the latest Global Witness report, which was published on the afternoon of Tuesday the 15th.
00:20September
00:21and that since 2012 it has been dedicated to collecting cases of murders of leaders and defenders of the land and
00:26of the environment in more than 22 countries around the world.
00:30According to the NGO's figures, in 2025 at least 124 environmental defenders were killed in
00:37the world.
00:38More than three-quarters were peasants, indigenous people, or people of African descent.
00:43and more than half of the cases are linked to land disputes, including in mining.
00:48illegal logging and the agribusiness.
00:50Although this is the lowest figure in three years, the organization warns that it does not mean that the violence is over.
00:56decreasing,
00:57but in many cases they can no longer be documented.
01:00And this reduction is, of course, positive to see, but at the same time we would be careful in interpreting this
01:07as an indicator of an improved situation for defenders globally.
01:12And additionally, lethal shortcuts are just one of the many dam tactics that states, corporations,
01:18criminal groups or citizens use it to silence defenders.
01:21Latin America was the deadliest region in the world, accounting for 85% of all murders recorded that year.
01:29past.
01:30Of this percentage, 36% were indigenous people and the remaining 40% were peasants.
01:36According to the organization, Latin America has consistently ranked as the most dangerous region in the world.
01:42for environmental and land defenders, since 2012 when it began publishing its report every year.
01:49And what about Colombia? Unfortunately, for the fourth year in a row, Colombia was the most dangerous country in the world.
01:55for human rights defenders with 39 murders.
01:58In the country, 17 of the 39 murders were linked to organized crime and another 5 to contract killings.
02:06Cauca, in the southwest of the country, remains one of the most dangerous areas for Earth defenders.
02:11There were 13 murders recorded there in 2025, including those of four indigenous guards.
02:16Since 2012, this department has accumulated 171 cases.
02:22But why does Cauca have the highest number of cases?
02:25Well, the organization explains that this is a key corridor for drug trafficking to the Pacific.
02:30Coca cultivation has increased fivefold in the last decade and, along with illegal mining,
02:35It is key for the armed groups that are fighting over the territory.
02:38We are definitely failing by not making progress in the fight against impunity in the country.
02:44Because according to the data we have as the Somos Defensores and Verdad Abierta programs,
02:51Between 2002 and September 2025, we have been able to document more than 1,840 murders of human rights defenders.
03:05In addition to Colombia, the situation in Brazil caught the attention of Global Witness.
03:09In this country, cases doubled, positioning it as the second country with the most reported murders.
03:15during 2025. It went from 12 reported to 26 in a single year.
03:20Most of the murders were related to demands for recognition of ancestral lands,
03:25as well as with demands for agrarian reform from peasants in Rondônia and Pará.
03:30Colombia and Brazil accounted for just over half, 52%, of the cases recorded in the region.
03:36The organization also points out that, faced with a lack of state protection,
03:41Many indigenous communities are no longer waiting and are creating their own guards to protect their territory.
03:47Since the NGO began collecting data, 2,375 people have been murdered.
03:52or disappeared for defending the land and the environment.
03:55And for the past four years, most of these cases have been reported in Colombia.
04:30If you want to read the full story, visit the Environment section of El Espectador.
04:34And don't forget to follow us on all our social media channels.
04:37Thank you!
04:50Thank you!
04:51Thank you!
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