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Venezuelan activist and political consultant wounded in targeted shooting, Colombian police say
- On Monday, two Venezuelan activists in Bogotá were wounded in an apparently targeted attack just past noon on Bogotá's north side by two unidentified assailants and remain in stable hospital condition.
- Having fled Venezuela last year alleging political persecution, Yendri Omar Velásquez Rodríguez and Luis Alejandro Peche Arteaga had lived in Colombia for the past year; Velásquez faced detention and passport cancellation in August 2024, noted by human rights group Provea.
- Velásquez and Peche both have distinct public roles: Velásquez founded the Venezuelan Observatory of LGBTQ+ Violence and was headed to a rights event in Switzerland, while Peche advised Venezuela's National Assembly in 2017 and 2018.
- President Gustavo Petro said on Monday that Venezuelans seeking asylum are welcome and promised expanded protections for activists, while Colombian police said they had no prior knowledge of threats.
- The shooting underscores dangers that have driven millions to migrate from Venezuela amid economic and political crises and post-election repression that left more than 20 people dead.
53 Articles
53 Articles
Colombia condemned over attack on Venezuelan activists in Bogota
Amnesty International on Tuesday issued a press statement condemning the attack on a Venezuelan human rights defender and asylum seeker, Yendri Velásquez, alongside his companion, Luis Peche, also a Venezuelan-Colombian activist in Bogotá, after two gunmen opened fire at them. The attack comes a year after they fled Venezuela due to political persecution. Amnesty International, in solidarity with the activists, stated that: We strongly condemn …
Venezuelan activists Luis Peche Arteaga and Yendri Velásquez were injured this Monday in an armed attack in northern Bogotá, Colombia, where they were both exiled after fleeing the persecution of Nicolás Maduro's regime.Read more]]>
María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia led calls to ensure protection for all exiles and demanded an urgent investigation from Colombian authorities after the attack
We condemn in the strongest terms the attack on our colleague Yendri Velásquez.
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