Indepaz, a Bogotá human-rights research institute, counted 26 massacres with 87 victims in Colombia since President Abelardo de la Espriella took office on 7 August, it said in a report published on Sunday 15 November 2026. The institute tracks violence across the country.
Five of the 87 victims were minors, Indepaz said in the same report on 15 November. The institute also counted 45 social leaders, meaning community and rights activists, killed over the same period, according to the report.
Valle del Cauca, a department in the south-west, had the most massacres and the most victims in Indepaz’s count. Indepaz says its categories count different things and must not be added together.
What We Know
Indepaz’s Observatory of Human Rights and Conflicts, its research unit, counted the 26 massacres between 7 August and 15 November 2026, it said in its report “100 DÍAS: el costo humano de la violencia” on 15 November. Among Colombia’s departments (states), Valle del Cauca had six, Antioquia and Tolima three each, and Huila two.
By number of victims, Indepaz reported on 15 November that Valle del Cauca had 18, Tolima 12, Huila 10 and Antioquia nine. The institute cited Suaza, a town in Huila, as a case with seven victims in the same report.
Indepaz defines a massacre as the intentional, simultaneous killing of three or more people in a state of defencelessness by the same perpetrator, in common circumstances of mode, time and place. The institute said on 15 November that this definition lets events be compared but does not replace a criminal investigation.
Beyond massacres, Indepaz reported on 15 November that 45 social leaders and human-rights defenders were killed in the period, 36 men and nine women. That is about one every 2.2 days, the institute calculated in the same report.
Cauca had 11 of those killings, Antioquia eight and Putumayo four, and in 44 of the 45 cases the record names no suspect, Indepaz said on 15 November. The figure is not a judicial conclusion on motive, and our earlier report on social-leader killings covers the longer trend.
Indepaz also counted eight former fighters of the FARC, the old guerrilla army that signed a peace agreement with the state in 2016, killed in the period, all men, it said on 15 November. Two died in Nariño and two in Cauca, with one each in Valle del Cauca, Cesar, Norte de Santander and Putumayo, the same report said.
For August and September only, Indepaz reported on 15 November that 6,667 people were displaced in 17 events, 13 of them mass displacements. Cauca accounted for 3,474 people (52.1%), Chocó 1,609, Antioquia 739 and Bolívar 424, according to the report, which says 63.7% fled fighting between armed groups.
Indepaz listed figures it attributes to Colombia’s Defence Ministry, saying on 15 November that 43 uniformed personnel were killed and 219 wounded. It also cited 339 terrorism cases reported by the ministry, with a cut-off of 5 November, and lists at least six cases of alleged extrajudicial executions reported to it, which are denunciations and not court findings.
Why It Matters
Valle del Cauca alone accounts for 18 of the 87 massacre victims, and Cauca for 52.1% of the people displaced in August and September, according to Indepaz’s report of 15 November. Travellers and expats planning trips to those departments should read their own government’s current travel advice.
Indepaz is an independent research institute, not a government body, and it keeps its own count of killings. A department is a Colombian state, and a social leader is a community or rights activist.
What Is Not Known
Indepaz’s counting method is its own, so official government figures may differ. The institute said on 15 November that it is not rigorous to attribute all 26 events to one organisation or one dynamic, because causes need case-by-case analysis of armed disputes, criminal structures, retaliation and local context, and that its categories must not be added together.
The 100-day tally is a snapshot of Indepaz’s own records, not a verdict on any policy. Our Colombia coverage will track later figures.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many massacres did Indepaz count?
Indepaz counted 26 massacres with 87 victims, five of them minors, between 7 August and 15 November 2026, it said in its report of 15 November. The institute is a Bogotá human-rights research body.
What counts as a massacre?
Indepaz defines it as the intentional, simultaneous killing of three or more defenceless people by the same perpetrator in common circumstances. It said on 15 November that the definition aids comparison but does not replace criminal investigation.
Which areas were hit hardest?
Valle del Cauca had six massacres and 18 victims, Antioquia and Tolima three massacres each, and Huila two, according to Indepaz’s 15 November report. By victims, Tolima had 12 and Huila 10.
Is this an official government count?
No, Indepaz is a research institute that counts cases by its own method. It says the 26 events should not be attributed to one organisation.
Sources: Indepaz, 100 Días: el costo humano de la violencia (15 November 2026); Indepaz report PDF (15 November 2026); Indepaz graphic (15 November 2026).