"This attack constitutes a serious aggression not only against them but against all the work of protecting and promoting human rights in the region," said Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was last week awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy activism. Writing on social media, Machado said that Velasquez and Peche had been "persecuted" in Venezuela by the regime of leaderNicolas Maduro, and called on the Colombian government to conduct a "thorough, transparent, and urgent investigation."