{"id":24643,"date":"2026-04-17T11:02:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/?p=24643"},"modified":"2026-04-17T11:02:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:02:02","slug":"six-months-of-impunity-the-attempted-murder-of-yendri-velasquez-and-luis-peche-demands-an-urgent-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/2026\/04\/17\/six-months-of-impunity-the-attempted-murder-of-yendri-velasquez-and-luis-peche-demands-an-urgent-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Six months of impunity: The attempted murder of Yendri Vel\u00e1squez and Luis Peche demands an urgent response"},"content":{"rendered":"

International human rights organizations call on Colombia and Venezuela to take action against transnational repression<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On October 13, 2025, two unidentified men opened fire on Venezuelan human rights defender Yendri Omar Vel\u00e1squez Rodr\u00edguez and Colombian-Venezuelan political analyst Luis Alejandro Peche Arteaga as they were leaving a residential building in Bogot\u00e1. Today, six months later, those responsible have not been identified or arrested. The signing organizations express our grave concern regarding this state of impunity and the persistent risk faced by Venezuelan human rights defenders abroad.<\/p>\n

Yendri Vel\u00e1squez, founder of the Venezuelan Observatory on LGBTIQ+ Violence and a member of Amnesty International Venezuela, was subjected to arbitrary detention<\/a>, enforced disappearance, and torture in Venezuela on August 3, 2024, while en route to Geneva (Switzerland) to participate in the 113th session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Venezuelan authorities revoked his passport that same day. After fleeing to Colombia and applying for asylum in October 2024, on October 13, 2025, he was the victim of an assassination attempt. At the time of the attack, Yendri was still awaiting recognition of his refugee status, despite the fact that more than a year had passed since his application and the clear need for international protection he faced.<\/p>\n

On December 10, 2025, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, and the Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity sent formal communications to the governments of Colombia and Venezuela requesting information on the case and the adoption of urgent measures for the protection of Yendri Vel\u00e1squez. As of the date of publication of this statement, no progress has been reported in the criminal investigation in Colombia.<\/p>\n

The circumstances of the attack point to a possible case of transnational repression. An effective response from the justice system is needed to identify those suspected of being responsible for the attack. Impunity for such attacks has a frightening effect on Venezuelan human rights defenders abroad and on civil society as a whole.<\/p>\n

Based on this information, the signing organizations issue the following calls to action:<\/strong><\/p>\n

To the Colombian government:<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

– Proceed urgently, thoroughly, and impartially with the investigation into the attack of October 13, 2025, including the possibility of involvement by Venezuelan state actors, and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.
\n– Maintain and strengthen protective measures for Yendri Vel\u00e1squez and Luis Peche, and extend such measures to other Venezuelan human rights defenders at risk.
\n– Comply with Constitutional Court ruling SU-543\/23, which orders the implementation of a public policy to streamline the processing of asylum applications.
\n– Implement specific protection protocols for human rights defenders seeking asylum who face risks of transnational repression.
\n– Strengthen institutional capacities to prevent possible acts of transnational repression.<\/p>\n

To Venezuelan authorities:<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Cooperate with Colombian authorities in the investigation of the attack, including an inquiry into the possible involvement of Venezuelan officials or other associated actors.
\nFormally respond to the communications sent on December 10, 2025, by the UN Special Procedures.<\/p>\n

Transnational repression must be recognized as a threat to human rights defenders, and measures must be adopted to effectively ensure their protection in host countries.<\/p>\n

The signing organizations will continue to monitor the situation and demand justice for activists Yendri Vel\u00e1squez and Luis Peche. Impunity for these attacks constitutes a signal of tolerance, which endangers the lives of all Venezuelan defenders abroad.<\/p>\n

Signing organizations:<\/p>\n

Amnesty International
\nCIVICUS
\nComisi\u00f3n Colombiana de Juristas
\nDue Process of Law Foundation (DPFL)
\nFreedom House
\nInternational Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), as part of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
\nInternational Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
\nRobert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center
\nThe World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), as part of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
\nWashington Office on Latin America (WOLA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

International human rights organizations call on Colombia and Venezuela to take action against transnational repression On October 13, 2025, two unidentified men opened fire on Venezuelan human rights defender Yendri Omar Vel\u00e1squez Rodr\u00edguez and Colombian-Venezuelan political analyst Luis Alejandro Peche Arteaga as they were leaving a residential building in Bogot\u00e1. Today, six months later, those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":24644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[681],"tags":[],"country":[888,893,897],"issue":[913,860],"program":[873],"resource":[],"class_list":["post-24643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comunicados","country-america-del-sur","country-colombia","country-venezuela","issue-authoritarianism-and-democratic-backsliding","issue-other-issues","program-transitional-justice-and-fight-against-impunity"],"acf":{"boton_1":"","url_boton_1\u00ba":"","boton_2":"","url_boton_2":"","boton_3":"","url_boton_3":"","boton_4":"","url_boton_4":"","boton_5":"","url_boton_5":"","boton_6":"","url_boton_6":"","boton_7":"","url_boton_7":"","boton_8":"","url_boton_8":"","boton_9":"","url_boton_9":"","boton_10":"","url_boton_10":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Luis-Peche-y-Yendri-Velasquez-defensores-de-ddhh.png?fit=960%2C580&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24643"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24646,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24643\/revisions\/24646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24643"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=24643"},{"taxonomy":"issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue?post=24643"},{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=24643"},{"taxonomy":"resource","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource?post=24643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}