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María Efigenia Vásquez Astudillo
Renacer Kokonuko
Colombia
Radio reporter and activist María Efigenia Vásquez Astudillo was passionate about documenting the struggles of her country's indigenous people. Vásquez became a reporter at 17 and later joined the Renacer Kokonuko news team covering the culture beat. Her mother said, "She became a journalist so she could be a voice for the voiceless." She was covering a protest by the Kokonuko people, who had blocked the entrance to a hot springs resort they claimed was on ancestral territory. Riot police showed up, stones were thrown and Vásquez was shot, dying hours later. It is unclear who shot her. She was 31. |