BOGOTA: A Venezuelan human rights activist and a political consultant were shot and injured in Colombia’s capital on Monday in a hitman-style attack.
Yendri Velasquez, a human rights and LGBT activist, and political consultant Luis Peche were stable after being shot while leaving a building in Bogota.
Colombia’s national police reported that Velasquez was scheduled to undergo surgery following the attack.
The two Venezuelan men had been residing in Colombia since September 2024 according to officials.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado condemned the attack on social media and accused the Venezuelan government of targeting the men.
Machado recently received the Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy activism in Venezuela.
She stated that Velasquez had sought refugee status in Colombia after being abducted in Venezuela for his human rights work.
Machado added that Peche was also in Bogota due to political persecution by the Maduro regime.
“This attack constitutes a serious aggression not only against them but against all the work of protecting and promoting human rights in the region,“ Machado said.
Venezuela’s government did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the allegations.
Overlapping economic and political crises in Venezuela have prompted millions to migrate to neighboring Colombia in the past decade.
Many social and political activists and members of Venezuela’s political opposition are among those who have fled.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Monday that Venezuelans seeking asylum in Colombia were welcome regardless of their views.
He also announced that the Colombian government would expand protections for human rights activists in the country. – Reuters
