Columbian evangelical Pastor Plinio Rafael Salcedo was found shot dead in his home earlier this week in what many believe to be a targeted assassination.
Salcedo lived in Taraza, Bajo Cauca Antioquia with his wife and two children, Faithwire reports.
The motive for the attack is still unknown, but experts in Columbia believe it was linked to a recent protest held just two days prior to the pastor’s death. Nearly 1,000 people from Protest and Catholic churches gathered to petition for peace in their region.
Columbia has experienced raging violence as illegal armed groups attempt to take control across the country. Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a religious persecution watchdog group, says Christian leaders have been targeted for assassination for years. Groups hope to intimidate leaders in order to bring communities under their authority.
In an effort to restore peace to the South American country, President Juan Manuel Santos signed a peace agreement with a far-left rebel organization, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia in 2016. But years later, the country has felt little of its effects.
According to a report from the New York Times, nearly 3,000 militants have resumed fighting and at least 500 activists and community leaders have been killed in that time.
Faithwire reported that in July of last year, the government launched…
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