By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News
BOGOTA (Worthy News) – A major Christian advocacy group has asked Colombia’s government to urgently “conduct a full and coordinated investigation” into the disappearance of a Roman Catholic priest who was last seen on June 17.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) told Worthy News that Carlos Saúl Jaimes Guerrero, a 30-year-old priest serving in the Province of Our Lady of Grace of the Order of Saint Augustine in Colombia, disappeared while traveling.
He was on his way from the Hacienda Casacoima – “a space for worship and religious outreach under his pastoral care” – to the nearby stream in the rural area of Viotá Municipality, Cundinamarca Department, where he reportedly had an appointment, CSW said.
However, Christians said his vehicle was later found abandoned, with the engine still running, near a waterway in the rural area of La Unión. “There were no visible signs of violence, robbery, or forced entry. [However] he has not been seen since,” CSW added.
In a video shared publicly on June 21 Jaimes Guerrero’s mother Ana Mary Guerrero issued an emotional plea for information on her son’s whereabouts. “Please send us news about him, and contact the family. I’m desperate, I know nothing about him. Please, I need him returned safe and sound,” she said.
CSW cited its sources as saying that the Attorney General’s Office’s Urgent Search Mechanism (Mecanismo de Búsqueda Urgente –MBU), set up as a fast response tool for disappearance victims, has been activated.
Additionally, authorities in Viotá offered a reward of 10 million Colombian pesos ($2,485) for credible information leading to the priest’s discovery.
BROADER TREND
Jaimes Guerrero’s disappearance is part of a broader trend with at least eight “religious and social leaders” never returning from meetings, Christians said.
The eight were reportedly detained by an illegal armed group in the Calamar Municipality of the Guaviare Department, on April 4 and 5.
On July 1, the bodies of all eight individuals were discovered in a mass grave in a rural part of the municipality, CSW added.
It highlighted concerns that Christians and religious leaders who continue their work in areas under the control of illegal armed and criminal groups are at risk.
In 2023, the Colombian government amended Decree 1066 to remove “religious leaders” from receiving special protections.
However, CSW’s Director of Advocacy Anna Lee Stangl said, ‘We urge the Colombian government to strengthen its efforts to ensure a coordinated, prompt, and effective response from institutions at every level.’
Additionally Priest Jaimes Guerrero’s should face a “swift and safe return,” the statement said.
URGENT NEED
“We insist upon the urgent need for the government to remember its duty to prevent, protect, and investigate any targeting of religious and social leaders. We call on the government to reinstate religious leaders under Decree 1066, to ensure their access to government protection programs and security mechanisms,” CSW added.
Illegal armed groups in Colombia have added thousands of members and expanded their territorial control in the last three years, despite government efforts to negotiate ceasefires, according to investigators.
“Armed groups totaled 21,958 people – including combatants and auxiliaries – by the end of June, the report found, 45% more than the 15,120 estimated in mid-2022, when President Gustavo Petro took office.
This exceeds the 17% expansion from 12,833 registered during the four-year term of former President Ivan Duque.
The report found that armed groups grew 7% in the last year alone, adding 1,469 members.
“Christians who live in areas controlled by guerrilla groups or drug gangs are often pressured or targeted because their faith goes against the aims of the cartels,” said advocacy group Open Doors.
Church leaders are believed to be particularly targeted if they are seen as opponents to the drug trade, according to Christians. Open Doors has ranked Colombia 46th on its annual World Watch List of 50 nations where it says Christians face the most persecution.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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