ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, says Colombis must recognise and respond to the specific risks faced by religious leaders who play a key role in peacemaking across the country…
London, UK
On 29th December Pastor Marlon Lora, his wife Yurlay Rincón, their daughter Ángela and son Santiago went to church, just as they would on any other Sunday. Afterwards, they went out for lunch in Aguachica, in Colombia’s Cesar Department, where, whilst they were sat eating together, two men – a driver and a gunman – pulled up beside them on a motorcycle and fired repeatedly at their table.
Pastor Lora, Yurlay and Ángela were killed instantly. Santiago died from his injuries days later.
The Lora Rincón family. PICTURE: Courtesy of CSW
“It may be hard to understand why anyone would want to harm such an ordinary and well-liked family, but sadly theirs is far from an isolated case.”
Pastor Lora and his family were well-loved by the Christian community in Aguachica. He and his wife led the Prince of Peace Church in the Villa Paraguay neighbourhood, and he also held a leadership role overseeing rural and urban churches across Cesar and Santander Departments. Ángela worked for Aguachica’s public utilities company, and Santiago was a systems engineering student. Both were active in their local church.
It may be hard to understand why anyone would want to harm such an ordinary and well-liked family, but sadly theirs is far from an isolated case.
For decades Colombia has been engulfed in a complex internal conflict involving multiple far-left and far-right illegal armed groups, organised criminal groups and government forces. All actors are responsible for serious human rights violations, and religious leaders and their communities have often been particularly targeted by those that view the presence of a strong or growing church as a threat to their authority.
Some groups have placed harsh restrictions on religious practice, or prohibited it altogether, while others have attempted to limit the ability of religious leaders to preach or teach freely, monitoring the content of sermons and in some cases even banning churches from carrying out community outreach programmes in order to minimise their impact.
Those that refuse to comply or co-operate face threats, extortion and assassination, with research by CSW and local partners estimating the number of religious leaders and others who have been targeted because of their religion or belief over the course of the conflict to be somewhere in the tens of thousands.
In November, 2016, the Colombian Congress approved a peace agreement between the government and one of the most notorious parties to the conflict – the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) – but the situation for Colombians in many parts of the country remains unchanged.
Aguachica, for example, is located near the mountains where the Los Pelusos criminal group, the Marxist-Leninist National Liberation Army (ELN), and FARC dissident groups that splintered after the 2016 peace agreement all continue to operate. One pastor told CSW that “the growth of churches as well as their influence in the communities is something that affects illegal groups. People repent of their sins and do not want to continue committing crimes and the bad guys do not like this”.
Prior to his murder, Pastor Lora had expressed concerns to his supervisor Giovanni Bermúdez about possible threats to another pastor, though he had not provided details. Pastor Bermúdez said: ‘Marlon was like many of us pastors – we keep quiet about many things so that everything runs smoothly, even while we carry heavy burdens inside.’
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Hostility towards religious leaders in the region has also increased in the aftermath of the attack. On the same day that Pastor Lora and his family were murdered, a female pastor received a phone call in which an unidentified individual made death threats towards the wives of pastors in Aguachica. It was later found that the call came from inside a prison.
Another pastor fled the city with his family after a man approached him at the Lora Rincón family funeral and suggested that he would be next, and at least six others report receiving personal phone calls threatening and/or extorting them.
Finally, whilst this article was in the process of being drafted, news emerged of the murder of another pastor in the neighbouring department of Magdalena. Iván García was shot dead whilst he was walking home from the People of God Christian Vision Church where his wife, Pastor Karen Nierles, had been invited to lead a Bible study.
Despite such clear evidence of the grave dangers faced specifically by religious leaders in conflict zones or areas where there is a significant illegal armed group presence, the Colombian government does little to ensure their protection. In 2023, religious leaders were removed from the country’s National Protection System, which is meant to protect those who are believed to be specifically vulnerable, and they were not mentioned in the June, 2022, report of the Truth Clarification Commission of Colombia (CEV) which was meant to investigate the patterns and causes of human rights violations during the course of the conflict.
The government must urgently prioritise the full implementation of the 2016 FARC peace agreement, and pursue similar resolutions with all remaining actors in the conflict. It must also recognise and respond to the specific risks faced by religious leaders who play a key role in peacemaking across the country, prioritising their safety, and ensuring that justice for historic violations is served.
Ellis Heasley is public affairs officer at UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW.
