Triple murder in El Paujil brings Colombia to 98 massacres in 2026
Three people were murdered at a public establishment in El Paujil, Caquetá. Colombia has accumulated 98 massacres and 379 victims so far this year.
Caquetá: attack at public venue leaves three dead and one wounded
In the early hours of Monday, an armed man opened fire indiscriminately against several people who were in a public establishment in the municipality of El Paujil, in the department of Caquetá. Three people died and one more was wounded, according to lasillavacia.com.
According to the NGO Indepaz, the victims were identified as Franklin Fabián Collazos Murcia, aged 34; Didier Romero Varela, aged 43; and Víctor Alfonso Osorio Artunduaga, aged 34.
The causes of the attack remain unclear. El Paujil is located in an area disputed by multiple armed groups: the dissidents of the alias "Calarcá" operate there through the Rodrigo Cadete structure, as well as the Border Commands and the dissidents of the alias "Iván Mordisco".
This municipality had already registered another violent incident in recent months. In August, the body of Sandra Martínez was found, a local leader recognised for her work with young people, coffee-growing communities and victims of the armed conflict. Martínez had been kidnapped on 26 November 2024 at her home, when she was four months pregnant.
The El Paujil massacre is the 98th of the year in Colombia and the second recorded in the department of Caquetá, with an accumulated toll of 379 people murdered in such incidents, according to Indepaz data. The figure represents a significant increase compared to the same period in 2025, when 78 massacres with 256 deaths were counted.
Source: Google News CO — Crime