On the afternoon of this holiday Monday, an armed attack against two Venezuelan activists in the town of Usaquén once again highlighted the security and care conditions faced by asylum seekers in Colombia.
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Luis Alejandro Peche, political analyst, and Yendri Velásquez , human rights defender and LGBTIQ+ activist, were attacked when they were leaving a residential complex located on Carrera 19 and Calle 134, in the Cedritos neighborhood, in the north of Bogotá.
According to initial medical reports, Velásquez underwent surgery after being shot in the arm. He is under police custody at a medical center, where a second orthopedic operation is awaited.
Peche, meanwhile, was shot twice in the legs and remains under medical evaluation to determine whether surgery will be necessary. Authorities reported that no vital organs were affected.
Police established a security perimeter around the health center where the activists are being treated. Entry is restricted, and only authorized personnel, including Amnesty International liaisons monitoring the process, are allowed access.
The hypotheses
Initial evidence suggests that three individuals were involved in the case, and modified traumatic weapons were found inside the car abandoned in Suba, where the attackers were traveling.
It was also determined that the attackers were in the same building as the victims. The victims lived in apartment 504 of the same building, and the alleged perpetrators resided in apartment 204, a source added.
Preliminary investigations raise several hypotheses: the possibility that this was a warning message intended to silence the activists, and the possibility that it was pressure to force the victims to leave the country, are also being considered.
