Indigenous governor Francisco Antonio Cuchillo Baltazar was shot dead on October 12 by a group of unidentified gunmen. The 57-year-old Paez indigenous leader of the Ginebra municipality in the Valle de Cauca, Colombia, was struck by three bullets—one in the head, and two in the chest—while waiting for a bus.
According to Xinhua news, Baltazar's daughter, Lili Cuchillo, said that the murder "represents an attack on our communities. They took a leader away from us." Unidentified sources have indicated that Baltazar was assassinated because he had planned to participate in a national protest against the Free Trade Area of the Americas and the potential re-election of president Alvaro Uribe. Jorge Eduardo Cuchillo Baltazar, the governor's brother, was kidnapped and murdered on September 5.
