120 land and environmental defenders killed or disappeared in Latin
America last year, report finds
[September 17, 2025]
By STEVEN GRATTAN
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — At least 146 land and environmental defenders
were killed or have gone missing around the world in 2024, with more
than 80% of those cases in Latin America, according to a report released
Wednesday by watchdog group Global Witness.
The London-based organization said the region once again ranked as the
most dangerous for people protecting their homes, communities and
natural resources, recording 120 of the total cases. Colombia remained
the deadliest country, with 48 killings — nearly a third of cases
worldwide — followed by Guatemala with 20 and Mexico with 18.
The number of killings in Guatemala jumped fivefold from four in 2023,
making it the country with the highest per capita rate of defender
deaths in the world. Brazil registered 12 killings, while Honduras,
Chile and Mexico each recorded one disappearance.
“There are many factors that contribute to the persistent high levels of
violence in Latin American countries, particularly Colombia,” Laura
Furones, lead researcher of the report, told The Associated Press.
“These countries are rich in natural resources and have vast areas of
land under pressure for food and feed production. Conflict over the
extraction of such resources and over the use of such land often leads
to violence against defenders trying to uphold their rights.”
Since 2012, Global Witness has documented more than 2,250 killings and
disappearances of land and environmental defenders worldwide. Nearly
three-quarters occurred in Latin America, including close to 1,000 cases
since 2018, when the region adopted the Escazu Agreement — a treaty
designed to protect environmental defenders. The pact requires
governments to guarantee access to environmental information, ensure
public participation in environmental decision-making and take timely
measures to prevent and punish attacks against those who defend the
environment.
“The Escazu Agreement provides a crucial tool for Latin America and the
Caribbean,” said Furones. “But some countries have still not ratified
it, and others that have are proving slow to implement and resource it
properly. Stopping violence against defenders will not happen overnight,
but governments must ramp up their efforts toward full implementation.”
Indigenous resistance
The report noted that Indigenous peoples bore a disproportionate share
of the violence. They accounted for around one-third of all lethal
attacks worldwide last year despite making up only about 6% of the
global population. Ninety-four percent of all attacks on Indigenous
defenders documented in the report occurred in Latin America.
In Colombia’s southwestern Cauca region, Indigenous youth are working to
ensure they will not be the next generation of victims. Through
community “semilleros,” or seedbeds, children and teenagers train in
environmental care, cultural traditions and territorial defense —
preparing to take on leadership roles in protecting land that has come
under pressure from armed groups and extractive industries.
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Eduwin Calambas Fernandez, coordinator of Kiwe Thegnas, which refers
to Indigenous Guard in the Nasa Yuwe language, in Canoas, an
Indigenous reserve in northern Cauca, Colombia, poses for a photo on
July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Nadège Mazars, File)
“We are defenders because our lives and territories are under
threat,” said Yeing Aníbal Secué, a 17-year-old Indigenous youth
leader from Toribio, Cauca, who spoke to AP in July.
These initiatives show how communities are organizing at the
grassroots to resist violence, even as Colombia remains the
deadliest country for defenders.
Small-scale farmers were also heavily targeted, making up 35% of the
victims in the region. Most killings were tied to land disputes, and
many were linked to industries such as mining, logging and
agribusiness. Organized crime groups were suspected of being behind
at least 42 cases, followed by private security forces and hired
hitmen.
Colombia one of the worst hit
The Amazonian department of Putumayo in southern Colombia
illustrates many of the risks faced by defenders. With its strategic
location bridging the Andes and the Amazon, the region is rich in
forests, rivers and cultural knowledge. But it also sits at the
crossroads of armed conflict, extractive projects and illicit
economies. Armed groups have long used the Putumayo River as a
trafficking route toward Brazil and Ecuador, where weak controls
make it easier to move cocaine, minerals and laundered money.
An environmental defender there, who asked to remain anonymous out
of fear of reprisals, told AP this has created one of the most
hostile climates in the country.
“Defending rights here means living under permanent threat,” the
source said. “We face pressure from illegal mining, oil projects
tied to armed groups, deforestation and coca cultivation. Speaking
out often makes you a military target.”
Andrew Miller of the nonprofit Amazon Watch said transnational
criminal networks involved in drug, gold and timber trafficking have
become a major force behind threats — and often deadly attacks —
against environmental defenders.
“The security situation for defenders across the Amazon is
increasingly precarious,” Miller said.
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