For the fourth year running, Colombia tops the global ranking of the deadliest countries for people who defend land and the environment, according to the annual report released by the watchdog group Global Witness on September 15. The organization verified 39 killings of environmental defenders in Colombia during 2025, and its data reveal a striking pattern in both geography and the identity of the victims.
One department stands out above all others: Cauca, in Colombia’s southwest. Thirteen of the 39 confirmed murders — a third of the national total and more than 10% of the 124 cases documented worldwide — occurred there. Since Global Witness began tracking these killings in 2012, Cauca has accumulated 171 deaths, more than any other Colombian department, a toll that has persisted through changes in government, peace accords, military operations and expanded protection budgets.
Researchers point to Cauca’s location near the Ecuadorian border and its access to Pacific export routes as key factors, since coca cultivation there has grown fivefold over the past decade amid competition between Colombian armed groups and Mexican cartels. Illegal mining compounds the damage, degrading forests and waterways. Similar dynamics, on a smaller scale, affect neighboring Nariño and Putumayo, each recording three killings tied to coca crops and illegal mining.
The report also found that nearly half of the 39 victims were Indigenous, with campesino farmers making up much of the rest — underscoring how Colombia’s most biodiverse territories are also its most dangerous. Read the full report at El Tiempo for more details.
Source: ¿Dónde y a quiénes asesinan por defender el ambiente en Colombia? Informe muestra que el Cauca y las comunidades indígenas concentran el riesgo (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: morebyless, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).