Sandra Liliana Peña Chocué (1985-2021) was a Colombian indigenous people rights activist and ñaChocuédefender.
She was the authority of the Nasa people (Paez people) of Colombia. She was the governor of the indigenous reserve “La Laguna-Siberia SAT Tama kiwe” in Cauca. Being a community leader at a very young age, she was appointed the Education Programme Policy Coordinator of the Reserve. While serving as the governor, she cleared up the reserve from the illegal crops.
On 20 April 2021, Sandra Liliana Peña Chocué was shot dead by 4 unknown men. These unknown men forcibly kidnapped her from her home in the indigenous reserve of “La Laguna-Siberia” in Caldono, Cauca. Later, they brought her somewhere and killed her.
Activism, death threats and murder
Sandra Liliana Peña Chocué worked for the protection of the autonomy and the ancestral culture of the Nasa Indigenous Peoples in Colombia. She worked for the recognition of the role of women in the indigenous reserve. She protected the territory by facing dead threats and pressures from armed forces. The powerful people wanted to expand the illegal crops, illegal mining and actions that impacted Nasa collective and territorial rights and culture. She dedicated herself to create peace in the Nasa people's territories. She was upholding the rights of the indigenous peoples.
On 20 April 2021, Sandra Liliana Peña Chocué was preparing for a meeting with officials from the Colombian government in the city of Popayán. It was when her home was broken into by the gangs. Then, she was attacked by the 4 unknown men holding weapons. According to a report from the "Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca" (CRIC), before she was killed, she had spoken out against the increase in the cultivation of illegal crops in the reserved place. As a result of her speech, she was threatened by the illegal groups. Those groups exercised control over the territory of the Department of Cauca. She even reported about the threats to the authorities.
References
Other websites
https://www.euskadi.eus/gobierno-vasco/-/noticia/2021/la-mesa-vasca-colaboracion-colombia-condena-asesinato-gobernadora-indigena-sandra-liliana-pena-chocue-y-agresiones-poblacion-indigena-del-cauca/ https://censat.org/es/noticias/asesinato-de-sandra-liliana-pena-un-ataque-a-las-esperanzas-de-paz-en-el-norte-del-cauca https://indigenousrightsinternational.org/campaigns/petitions/colombia-statement-on-the-murder-of-colombian-indigenous-woman-leader-sandra-pena https://latin.weeffect.org/stories/condenamos-el-asesinato-de-sandra-liliana-pena-chocue/ https://www.forumciv.org/int/latest/we-condemn-violence-against-indigenous-communities-colombia https://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/otras-ciudades/quien-era-la-gobernadora-indigena-asesinada-sandra-pena-582578