Story By: Maja Mishevksa, Sub Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
Four people have been arrested for the brutal murder of this couple of environmental defenders who were killed on their honeymoon and found tied up to a tree.
Natalia Jimenez and her husband Rodrigo Monsalve were reported missing on 20th December and three days later their bodies were found hooded and tied up to a tree.
Both were shot dead on the Perico Agua road, a rural area in the city of Santa Marta, in the region of Guajira, on the Colombian Caribbean coast.
They had reportedly been spending honeymoon in the village of Palomino, known for its sandy beaches, blue waters and forests.
According to reports, the couple were travelling in a vehicle when they were stopped by a group of armed men who forced them to go out of the car.
Local media reported that Jimenez was talking with her father on the phone when he suddenly heard his daughter screaming and voices threatening to murder them before the called ended.
Giovanni Ortiz Camacho, alias Giovanni, reportedly handed himself into cops saying he had participated in the murder and three others; Jader Groelfi, Andres Felipe Socarras, alias Pipe Varela and Luis Alfonso Rodriguez Escobar, alias Luchito.
The main hypothesis of the police is that the couple were the victims of a robbery committed by an organised criminal gang. However, there are still other lines of investigation open.
Natalia Jimenez, 35, was the Director of the project Magdalena Cauca Vive, of the Foundation Natura, working in the preservation of biodiversity and was known for her defence of animal species in the region.
Her husband Rodrigo Monsalve, 40, was an anthropologist and was working as a DJ in Santa Marta, according to friends of the couple.
Both had moved to Santa Marta seven years ago from Bogota, the Colombian capital and reportedly often used the road where they were found dead.
According to Carlos Holmes Trujillo, the Minister of Defence, the Colombian authorities are working on the case.
A reward of 50 million COP (11,606 GBP) has been offered for those who provide any kind of information about the crime and find the culprits.
The investigation is ongoing.
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