PBI-Colombia joins with Nomadesc in mourning the murder of 17-year-old social leader Alan Josué Valencia Cuero
Photo: Alan Josué Valencia Cuero.
The Association for Social Research and Action (Nomadesc) has posted on social media:
“In common union for life, with pain and deep determination, the people of Buenaventura cry out, ‘Alan Lives’. From the seed that is sown today springs the hope of a free and peaceful Buenaventura.
Alan, in the arms of his ancestors, will continue to plant the resilient seed of the treasured medicinal plant Siempre Viva, which borders his beloved territory of Bahia Malaga.”
Infobae reports: “The community in Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca) is dismayed and outraged by the murder of Alan Josué Valencia Cuero, a 17-year-old boy. …He lost his life when he was passing through the Los Pinos neighborhood on Thursday, September 11, when he was the victim of an armed attack.”
“The student was on his way home when, according to accounts provided by the authorities, he was shot several times from a moving vehicle.”
That article by Infobae further notes: “Alan Josué Valencia Cuero, originally from La Plata, Bahía Málaga, had moved to Buenaventura to begin his university training in Systems Engineering at the Universidad del Pacífico.”
And it provides this important context: “The reactions following the murder of Alan Valencia Cuero have highlighted the seriousness of the violence faced by youth in some regions of Colombia and have revealed the urgency of implementing effective measures to protect the lives of young social leaders. …The murder of Valencia Cuero was the 117th case of social leaders murdered in Colombia so far in 2025.”
Image by Indepaz.
El Tiempo also explains: “Everything points to gangs being involved in the murder of Alan Josué Valencia Cuero.” This newspaper article also notes the complex web of armed groups in the area could include “FARC dissidents of the ‘Jaime Martínez’ front [as well as] the ‘Gulf clan’, the ‘Second Marquetalia’ and the ELN. These groups have established feared alliances with ‘the ‘Shottas’ and ‘the Espartanos’…”
And El Espectador reports: “[The Institute for Development and Peace Studies] recalled the alert of the Ombudsman’s Office about the extreme risk to which social leaders are exposed in several areas of the country, including Buenaventura.”
PBI-Colombia accompanies Bahia Málaga through Nomadesc.
PBI-Canada recalls visiting Buenaventura and Alan’s community of Bahia Malaga with a delegation of Canadian union activists in July 2022.
Peace Brigades International joins with Nomadesc in mourning the loss of Alan Josué Valencia Cuero and many other social leaders in Colombia.
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