A trans woman LGTBIQ community leader has been shot dead during the third attempt on her life in two years.

Cristina Isabel Cantillo Martinez was shot three times outside her residence in the neighbourhood of Ondas del Caribe in the Colombian city of Santa Marta on Tuesday night (7th December).

The trans woman, age not reported, was with family members at the time and the shots were reportedly fired by two men who arrived on motorbike.

After being shot, the victim, who worked as an LGTBIQ community leader in the city, was taken to a private clinic, where she succumbed to her injuries.

According to reports, Cantillo had survived two previous assassination attempts. The first took place in April last year. She was unharmed, although her brother, Luis Felipe, suffered bullet wounds.

The second took place in November last year, when the car she was assigned for her safety was riddled with bullets by unknown suspects. She was not in the vehicle at the time.

She was under a National Protection Unit safety scheme, given the threats to her life, at the time. However, it was not enough to prevent the latest crime from taking place.

Santa Marta mayoress Virna Johnson took to Twitter to lament the community leader’s killing, writing: “We repudiate the killing of Cristina Cantillo, LGTBIQ community leader, who had reported threats towards her. A support structure was in place for her through the mayor’s office. The National Protection Unit of Colombia was in charge of her protection. We demand results and justice from the authorities.”

Cantillo was the directress of the NGO Fundacion Calidad Humana (Human Quality Foundation).

Her role focused on community work against gender violence and defending the rights of trans women, mainly sex workers.

According to reports, local armed groups had been threatening her because of the strong leadership she apparently exercised in the city.

Before her killing, the trans woman had taken to social media to question the effectiveness of the protection scheme she was under and to criticise what she believed to be the police’s inaction over the threats to her life.

At the time of reporting, the alleged killers remained at large and the case remained under investigation.

According to the Bogota-based NGO Indepaz, Cantillo is the 162nd community leader or human rights defender to be killed in Colombia this year.