For stating that a social leader killed in Rionegro had a criminal record, they ask the police to retract

The inhabitants of the La Inmaculada neighborhood, in Rionegro (Antioquia), are outraged that, according to them, the police said that Victor Alfonso Giraldo Valencia, who was killed last Easter Sunday, had a criminal record.

The Caracol Radio station reported that Giraldo, aged 26 at the time of his homicide, was recognized among the inhabitants of that sector of the municipality as a prominent leader.

“I was a graduate of the San José de las Cuchillas educational institution. A social leader from a very young age, he was always very proactive, he brought many projects to the sector, in fact he was in the support network in the municipality and was in youth groups,” Gladys Montoya, President of the Community Action Board of the La Inmaculada neighborhood, said at that station.

The woman indicated that she knew the deceased fully and assured that he had no links to criminal structures, so she asked the commander in the department, Colonel Daniel Mazo, to retract his statements pointing to the young man.

“I respectfully request Mr. Commander of the Police Antioquia to retract publicly and to really ask this family for some excuses, because after the pain over the loss of this beloved one, that they give him his good name, it doesn't seem to us,” added Montoya.

An article in the newspaper El Colombiano, which also relied on statements by the authorities, indicated that Giraldo had been killed by hit men along with another man who was identified as Eder Arley Castañeda. The latter, they also reported on Caracol Radio, had served a sentence in prison and had just been released, according to the Police.

Precisely, after Holy Week, that municipality also reported the murder of Andrés Eduardo Cruz Gómez, 27, another young man prominent among the community for his leadership, in this case with the scouts.

Cruz Gomez is remembered by his friends and family as a multifaceted man. In addition to dedicating himself to the service and honor represented by the fleur de lis, which he wore since 2005, the scout was a worker of the National Chocolate Company and manifested a civic and collaborative attitude.

The death occurred during the night of last Tuesday, April 19. Cruz Gómez left doing his routine in the gym with a companion and they realized that it was raining, according to an audio that was known by the newspaper El Colombiano. Given her vocation for service, she decided to take the other person home to avoid getting wet.

While he was driving back home on the intermunicipal highway in the Cuatro Esquinas sector, a group of motorcycle gunmen fired weapons on 14 occasions against the leader of the Ashanti 79 Scout Group. One of the hypotheses that the authorities have about the case is that the criminals were trying to steal his vehicle and he resisted.

“Today we offer heartfelt condolences to his family and to the Ashanti 79 Scout Group. We are very hurt by this departure at such a young age of a good person, of an excellent person. Andrés Eduardo Cruz Gómez, you will always be in our hearts and the void will always be there because of your good deeds and your desire to serve the community,” said Juan Enrique Upegui, another scout leader of the municipality.

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