International human rights organizations this Thursday demanded an immediate response from Colombia and Venezuela in the investigation of the assassination attempt suffered by human rights defender Yendri Omar Velásquez Rodríguez and political analyst Luis Alejandro Peche Arteaga, both Venezuelans, on October 13, 2025 in Bogotá.
Two unidentified men shot both activists as they left a residential building in the Colombian capital. To date, authorities have not identified or arrested those responsible.
The organizations signatories They expressed their deep concern about this situation of impunity and about the risks faced by Venezuelan human rights defenders in exile.
Yendri Velásquez, founder of the Venezuelan Observatory of LGBTIQ+ Violence and member of Amnesty International Venezuela, suffered arbitrary detention, forced disappearance and torture in Venezuela on August 3, 2024. That same day, authorities revoked his passport as he headed to Geneva to participate in a UN session.
After fleeing to Colombia and requesting refuge in October 2024, he suffered an attack a year later. At the time of the attack, he was still awaiting approval of his refugee status.
On December 10, 2025, three UN special rapporteurs sent formal communications to the governments of Colombia and Venezuela to request urgent information and protection measures. There were no significant advances in the criminal investigation in Colombia.
The organizations indicated that the characteristics of the attack suggest a possible case of transnational repression. The lack of justice generates fear among Venezuelan defenders abroad.
Amnesty International, Provea, Civicus, the Colombian Commission of Jurists, FIDH, Freedom House, DPLF, ISHR, WOLA, OMCT and the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center signed the statement.
The organizations announced that they will continue to monitor the case and demand justice for the two activists. Impunity in this type of attacks represents a sign of tolerance that seriously endangers the lives of Venezuelan defenders abroad.
