Lisandro Tenorio, colombia indigenous leader killed in Cauca province

An indigenous spiritual leader has been killed in south-western
Colombia amid mounting tension between his tribe and left-wing rebels.
Lisandro Tenorio, a traditional healer of the Nasa tribe, was shot
dead by unidentified gunmen on Sunday. Members of his tribe said he
had received death threats from Colombia's largest rebel group, the
Farc. The Nasa have demanded that the rebels and the Colombian
security forces leave their land.

They say they have had enough of being caught in the middle of
confrontations between the two sides. Mr Tenorio's wife described how
two men came to their cabin on Sunday. One shook Mr Tenorio's hand,
while the other shot him in the head three times, she said. Mr Tenorio
had been the spiritual leader for the Nasa indigenous community of
Lopez Adentro, in Cauca province, for more than 30 years. Cauca
province is a stronghold of the left-wing Farc guerrilla group. It is
used by the rebels and criminal groups as a key corridor for drug
smuggling. The Nasa of Lopez Adentro say Mr Tenorio and his son had
repeatedly been threatened by Farc rebels.

Rising tension

Last month, the Nasa demanded that all armed men leave their land, be
they rebels, paramilitaries, police or army. Pictures of Nasa men
dragging a soldier from his post angered many non-indigenous
Colombians They dragged a group of soldiers from the army post they
were guarding and also sent a delegation to nearby Farc camps to tell
them they had two weeks to take their fight elsewhere. The tribe also
put three of its members who had joined the rebels on trial. The three
were sentenced to a public whipping according to traditional Nasa law.

Tensions between the tribe and the rebels have since been running
high, and the Nasa have reported repeated incursions of armed men into
their territory. About 15,000 members of the Nasa and other indigenous
groups from the region are currently gathered in La Maria, in Cauca
province, for a tribal meeting. On Sunday, indigenous leaders met a
government delegation to discuss the tribes' demands for a military
pull-out. The indigenous groups walked out after they were told their
demand to negotiate directly with President Juan Manuel Santos would
not be met. Interior Minister Federico Renjifo said the government
remained willing to talk to the indigenous groups, but that tangible
progress would have to be made before the president would consider
holding a meeting with them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19250661