Nuquí, Colombia. Juana María Perea Plata, granddaughter of the first Basque Government delegate in Colombia (1945) Andrés Perea Gallaga, was an environmental leader, promoting an ecotourism hotel and sustainable tourism activities in Termales (Nugui, in the department of Choco), and she had also been an opponent to the Port of Tribugá project. The fifty year old, who was married with no children, was shot in the head in this region of incredible natural beauty with a strong presence of paramilitary.
According to family sources who talked to EuskalKultura.eus, Juana Perea was a significan community leader who had a small ecotourism business and “taught children to surf.” A cousin of the victim explained to Efe that Perea and her American husband had 10 hectares in Termales where “she, as a good Basque, began to change the situation there, which is very precarious” due to the proliferation of gangs of drug traffickers and paramilitary.
One of the last videos recorded by Juana, presenting her hotel under construction in Termales
The mayor of Nuquí, Yefer Gamboa, said, “The security situation in the municipality is complex,” due to the presence of illegal armed groups and the weak state presence. Kathy Sutton, president of the Choco Surf League, told the local publication, Semanario Rural that “Juana was like everyone’s mother, se was a light for the community in the area. Wherever they needed her, she was there, whether it was to raise her voice against the Port of Tribuga, to support the Choco Surf League or whatever. She had her hand outstretched to help everyone who needed it,” she explained, highlighting that Juana represented all the good that there is in this region.
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