Bodies Of 7 Evangelical Christians And A Relative Found In Colombia
The bodies of seven evangelical Christians and a relative were found July 1 in a shallow grave in the Guaviare province in south-central Colombia. The six men and two women had been reported missing since April.
Colombian prosecutors believe rebel group Frente Armando Ríos is responsible for the mass killing, according to the BBC. Officials said the rebels summoned the victims in early April for interrogation about the alleged emergence of an armed rival group and that they were murdered at an abandoned property.
Authorities did not find any links between the victims and the rival guerrilla group, according to The Christian Post.
The victims were identified as Isaíd Gómez, Maribel Silva, Carlos Valero, James Caicedo, Jesús Valero, Maryuri Hernández, Nixon Peñalosa and Oscar García.
Seven victims were members of the Evangelical Alliance of Colombia or the Foursquare Gospel Church, two Protestant denominations in Colombia, according to human rights organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). The eighth victim was not a church member but a relative of two other victims.
According to CSW, all eight victims moved to Guaviare after facing religious persecution in Arauca, a municipality in northern Colombia.
Peñalosa was treasurer of the Evangelical Alliance of Colombia and had been married for 46 years. Denomination leaders Gómez and Silva were married and left behind two children, ages 4 and 11, CSW reported.
Hernandez, also a member of the denomination, was married and had a 5-year-old daughter.
Caicedo was a former pastor of the Foursquare Gospel Church, and Valero and García were members.
According to The Christian Post, Colombian authorities found photos of the missing church leaders and the crime scene on the cell phone of a guerrilla leader captured in May. The photos helped investigators find the mass grave.
Frente Armando Ríos is an offshoot of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (RAF) of Colombia, according to the BBC. The RAF of Colombia reached a peace deal with the nation’s government in 2016, but some groups, such as Frente Armando Ríos, have refused to disarm.
The BBC reported that Frente Armando Ríos is among groups that reportedly produce and traffic cocaine and have been involved in confrontations with rival groups and government forces.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro described the killings as a “grave affront to the right to life, religious freedom and the spiritual and community work that so many people carry out in regions historically ravaged by violence,” according to CSW.
He also said it is the state’s duty to ensure these types of crimes “are neither repeated nor go unpunished.”
The Evangelical Confederation of Colombia issued a statement affirming that it is standing in solidarity with those mourning the loss of the victims.
“We request prayer for peace and consolation for these families,” reads the statement, translated from Spanish. “We raise a firm voice of outcry and demand that the authorities ensure that these crimes do not go unpunished, that the investigations move forward swiftly, and that real guarantees are provided for the protection of the lives and integrity of those who exercise spiritual leadership in the most vulnerable regions of the country.”
The Christian Post reported that more than 30 multiple homicides have been documented in rural Colombia in 2025 and that this case has the most victims of any recorded this year.
This piece is republished with permission from The Roys Report.
Ann Marie Shambaugh has reported as a print journalist in multiple states, including currently in Carmel, Indiana.