The opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia expressed this Monday his “indignation and deep concern” for the attack that left activists injured Yendri Velásquez and Luis Peche in Bogotá.
Through your social network X, Gonzalez condemned “with indignation and deep concern the shooting attack against Yendri Velásquez and Luis Peche, Venezuelan human rights defenders injured in Bogotá.”
He assured that both activists “fled persecution seeking refuge and protection in Colombia, but transnational violence reached them in exile.”
In turn, he noted that “Yendri requested refuge and has not yet received a response.” In this sense, he urged the Colombian authorities to carry out an “immediate and exhaustive investigation” and to guarantee the “effective protection” of all people seeking asylum in the country.
In addition, to underline the “firm position” of the Colombian Ombudsman’s Office, which immediately condemned the attack.
The Ombudsman’s Office recalled that Velásquez went to the institution to request support in his international protection process, after fleeing Venezuela due to “persecution derived from his work in defense of human rights.”
The organization asked the Prosecutor’s Office to carry out a “prompt and exhaustive investigation that allows the facts to be clarified and protection measures to be adopted for the victims.”
According to the Colombian National Police, the attack was of a “hitman” type. The activists were taken to a clinic and remain out of danger, although Velásquez required surgery due to the severity of his injuries.
Others called for investigation
For its part, Henrique Capriles Radonski expressed his absolute rejection of the attack, calling it an example of the “cruelest face of intolerance.”
“This act of violence must be investigated by the Colombian authorities until those responsible are found,” he said.
