Bogota | A Spanish researcher was kidnapped in southwest Colombia, a country plagued by an upsurge in violence linked to armed groups or drug traffickers, a police source announced on Sunday.
The kidnapping of Jesús Quintana, director for the Americas of the International Center on Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), took place in the department of Cauca (southwest), particularly affected by this wave of violence.
He was “kidnapped” by “a criminal group” while on his way to the neighboring department of Huila, Police Director Óscar Atehortúa said in a press statement.
The official underlined the undoubtedly “economic” character of this kidnapping given the foreign origin of the researcher. He did not identify the criminal group in question.
CIAT is present in a dozen countries and, according to its website, offers “scientific solutions” aimed at transforming “agricultural systems”. The researcher was on a mission in the city of Cali (southwest).
Cauca is one of the most dangerous regions in Colombia where former guerrillas, drug traffickers and paramilitary groups are rampant.
On Sunday, Colombian authorities announced that at least four indigenous people had been killed in an attack in the same region of Cauca, including a former member of the dissolved Farc guerrillas.
Since the signing of the peace agreement with the Marxist Farc guerrillas in 2016, Colombia has entered a new cycle of violence, the main victims of which are ex-guerrillas, human rights defenders and community leaders. .