How campaigners' slayings hurt environmental protection in Colombia

Duberney Lopez, former guerrilla and signatory of the peace agreement between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government, wears a t-shirt with the portrait of Jorge Santofimio, murdered environmentalist and former guerrilla and signatory of the peace agreement between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government, in Puerto Guzman, Colombia June 27, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

PUERTO GUZMAN, Colombia (Reuters) - Darkness had descended on Colombia's southern Putumayo province one February night last year when gunfire roared through the air, shattering the peaceful dusk.

Villagers attending a meeting scattered and fled. Leidy Mendoza watched in horror nearby as her teenage son rushed to save his five-year-old brother, who ran off when the shooting started.