"The Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, who last week was awarded the Nobel peace prize for her pro-democracy activism, condemned the attack on social media and said the two men had been targeted by the government of the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro. According to Machado, Velasquez had sought refugee status in Colombia after being abducted in Venezuela in 2024 for his work as a human rights defender, while 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. The Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, said on X that government security forces would expand their protection of human rights activists. All Venezuelan citizens who seek asylum in Colombia, independent of their ideas, are welcome, he wrote. Colombia's ombudsman's office criticised the attack and urged the attorney general's office to investigate."
Yendri Omar Velasquez Rodriguez and Luis Alejandro Peche Arteaga were shot as they left a building in north Bogota and were reported in stable condition in hospital, with Velasquez due to undergo surgery. Maria Corina Machado condemned the attack and said the men had been targeted by Nicolas Maduro's government; she noted Velasquez had sought refugee status in Colombia after an abduction in Venezuela in 2024 and that Peche faced political persecution. Velasquez founded the Venezuelan Observatory of LGBTIQ+ Violence and had been detained at Venezuela's main international airport in August 2024. Colombian president Gustavo Petro pledged expanded protection for human rights activists, the ombudsman's office urged investigation, and police said they were unaware of prior threats.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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