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Calle empedrada vacía de un pueblo del norte del Valle del Cauca al atardecer, con velas encendidas y flores sobre la acera en memoria de las víctimas
Velas y flores sobre una acera en señal de duelo en un pueblo del norte del Valle del Cauca. Imagen generada.

Massacre in Toro: a mother and her two daughters killed at home

Armed men killed María del Carmen Gutiérrez and her daughters Yarlin Andrea and Sulisney Muñoz Gutiérrez at their home in Toro, Valle del Cauca, on November 6…

--- The context --- The municipality of Toro, in northern Valle del Cauca, has long faced disputes over territorial control and illicit economies such as drug trafficking, a setting that keeps the civilian population of the area at constant risk. According to the development and peace studies institute that tracks these events, the Adán Izquierdo Front of the Isaías Pardo Bloc, the group known as Los Flacos and local criminal groups operate in the territory, although it has not been established which of those structures, if any, is behind the most recent crime. --- The facts --- On November 6, 2026, armed men arrived at a home in Toro and fired indiscriminately at three women from the same family who were inside the house. The victims were identified as María del Carmen Gutiérrez and her daughters Yarlin Andrea Muñoz Gutiérrez and Sulisney Muñoz Gutiérrez, a mother and her two daughters who died as a result of the armed attack on their own home. --- The positions --- The director of the institute, Leonardo González Perafán, called for the circumstances of the crime to be fully clarified and for those responsible to be identified, and he warned that protecting the civilian population requires an urgent and comprehensive institutional response. Senator Ana Paola García rejected the crime and demanded speed in capturing those responsible, while Representative Juan Carlos Garcés Rojas also rejected it, called for investigations and arrests, urged stronger security in northern Valle and expressed his solidarity with the affected families. --- What remains unknown --- The authorship of the attack and the motives behind it are still unknown, and no arrests related to the case have been reported. The Ombudsman Office had warned of the persistence and worsening of risks in Toro and nearby localities, with threats of homicides, direct threats and extortion against the population. --- Unanswered questions --- Who ordered and carried out the attack against this family in Toro? What concrete protection measures will be activated for residents of northern Valle after the earlier warnings? When will the authorities present the first results of the investigation and the arrests described as urgent? --- EPM analysis --- According to the institute figures, 104 massacres have been recorded in Colombia so far in 2026, 24 of them during the administration of President Abelardo De La Espriella, which began on August 7, 2026. In Valle del Cauca the count reaches 14 this year and 6 since the start of that administration, showing sustained pressure on this department. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the Toro massacre confirms that early warnings are not enough when they do not translate into effective and permanent protection for the civilian population. A comprehensive response demands sustained institutional presence, a rapid investigation and real guarantees for families living amid territorial disputes. Public solidarity is necessary, but the country needs verifiable results: identified perpetrators, arrests and territories where daily life is no longer a constant risk for mothers and daughters.
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