Little Has Changed’: Pastor in Colombia Murdered Despite Peace Agreement
by Jordan Hilger, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A pastor in Colombia was murdered in his home in Bajo Cauca Antioquia, following a protest for peace by Protestants and Catholics the pastor was thought to be a part of.
Plinio Rafael Salcedo was shot multiple times on August 10th, and is survived by his wife and two small children, as well as his church, which is part of the World Missionary Movement in Colombia.
“Whilst we welcome the Colombian government’s efforts regarding the peace agreement so far, little has changed for many communities in regions where illegal armed groups continue to operate with impunity,” said Christian Solidarity Worldwide chief Mervyn Thomas.
In 2016, members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) and the Colombian government, who had been fighting the longest-standing armed conflict in the western hemisphere for over 50 years, signed a peace agreement, with revolutionary leader Timochenko promising “the war is over, we are starting to build peace.”
The pastor’s murder, typical of a conflict that has seen 200,000 people killed and produced the largest number of internally displaced people anywhere in the world at 7 million, continues a trend in which church leaders have been either silenced, assassinated, or co-opted by revolutionaries in their capacity as the consciences of their communities.