Masked gunmen arrived and opened fire indiscriminately
En las horas nocturnas de un sábado, tres jóvenes —de 16, 22 y 24 años— fueron asesinados por hombres armados y encapuchados en una vereda del municipio de Salgar, Antioquia. Lo que comenzó como una reunión ordinaria se convirtió en escena del crimen, sumándose a un patrón de violencia rural que ya había cobrado vidas en la misma región meses atrás. Las autoridades respondieron con consejos de seguridad y patrullajes mixtos, pero la pregunta que persiste es más honda: ¿cuántas vidas más deberá perder el campo colombiano antes de que la impunidad encuentre su límite?
- Hombres encapuchados llegaron sin advertencia a un establecimiento rural en el asentamiento Los Andes y abrieron fuego de manera indiscriminada, matando a tres jóvenes en cuestión de momentos.
- Los atacantes huyeron de inmediato, dejando tras de sí una comunidad en estado de shock y una zona rural donde los grupos armados parecen moverse con total impunidad.
- Las autoridades convocaron un consejo de seguridad de emergencia: el coronel Daniel Mazo, el alcalde Londoño y mandos militares se reunieron para coordinar una respuesta conjunta ante lo que oficialmente se clasificó como masacre.
- Se anunciaron patrullajes mixtos entre policía y ejército, una línea telefónica para denuncias anónimas y un programa de recompensas para quienes aporten información sobre los perpetradores.
- Este ataque no es un hecho aislado: en abril de 2022, gunmen armados ya habían atacado una vivienda en el barrio La Florida, dejando dos muertos y un herido, revelando un patrón sostenido de violencia en las zonas rurales de Salgar.
Un sábado por la noche, en el asentamiento Los Andes del municipio de Salgar, Antioquia, tres jóvenes de 16, 22 y 24 años fueron asesinados cuando hombres armados y encapuchados irrumpieron en el establecimiento donde se encontraban reunidos. Los atacantes llegaron con aparente intención de intimidar, abrieron fuego sin mediar palabra y huyeron de inmediato. La policía confirmó los hechos y los clasificó formalmente como masacre.
La respuesta institucional fue inmediata. El coronel Daniel Mazo convocó un consejo de seguridad de emergencia junto al alcalde municipal y autoridades militares. Se acordó el despliegue de patrullajes mixtos, la creación de un grupo especial de investigación y un programa de recompensas articulado con el gobierno regional. Mazo también hizo pública una línea telefónica para que los habitantes de la zona pudieran reportar información sobre actividad criminal.
Lo ocurrido ese sábado no surgió en el vacío. Apenas tres meses antes, en abril de 2022, un ataque armado en el barrio La Florida había dejado dos personas muertas y una herida. La repetición de estos hechos en las veredas de Salgar dibuja un patrón inquietante: el de comunidades rurales expuestas a grupos que actúan con impunidad, donde los jóvenes reunidos en un lugar cualquiera pueden convertirse, sin razón aparente, en blanco de la violencia.
On a Saturday night in the rural reaches of Salgar, a municipality in Antioquia, three young men were shot dead. The victims—aged 16, 22, and 24—were gathered at an establishment in the Los Andes settlement, talking and spending time together, when masked gunmen arrived and opened fire. The shooting was indiscriminate. The attackers fled immediately after. Police confirmed the deaths and launched a formal investigation into what they classified as a massacre.
The arrival of the gunmen appears to have been sudden and deliberate. Witnesses said the men came to intimidate those present before the shooting began. There was no warning, no negotiation—just the appearance of armed figures with their faces covered and then gunfire. Within moments, three young lives were ended. The establishment where they had been gathered became a crime scene.
The killings prompted an emergency security council. Colonel Daniel Mazo, commander of the Antioquia police, convened a meeting with the municipal mayor, Londoño, and military authorities. The focus was immediate: identify the perpetrators and bring them into custody. The officials announced they would deploy mixed patrols combining police and military personnel throughout the area. They also established a reward program for anyone providing information that led to the gunmen's capture.
Mazo spoke publicly about the response. An investigation task force was already being assembled, he said. The patrols would begin soon. The reward system was being coordinated with the regional government. He also released a phone number—3124010248—for residents to call with tips about the shooting or other criminal activity in the rural municipality. "We can receive information to identify people who are criminals and could cause harm in the rural areas of the municipality," he said.
This was not the first time Salgar's rural zones had seen such violence. In April of that same year, armed gunmen had attacked a house in the La Florida neighborhood, killing two people and wounding a third. The pattern suggested something deeper than isolated incident—a recurring threat in the countryside, a place where armed groups moved with apparent impunity and young people gathered in establishments became targets. The three deaths on that Saturday night were part of a larger story of rural insecurity that authorities were now being forced to confront directly.
Citas Notables
We have already assembled an investigation task force. Mixed patrols with the military will be conducted and a reward plan has been organized with the regional government.— Colonel Daniel Mazo, Antioquia police commander
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would masked gunmen target a gathering of young people in a rural establishment? What was the motive?
The source doesn't specify a motive—whether it was gang-related, territorial, personal, or something else entirely. That's part of what the investigation is meant to uncover. But the pattern matters: this wasn't random violence. They came, they intimidated, they fired. It was deliberate.
The victims were very young—one was only 16. Did authorities say anything about who these young men were or what they were involved in?
No. The source only identifies them by age. They were described as young people who were talking and spending time together. Whether they had any connection to criminal activity, or whether they were simply in the wrong place, isn't stated. That's a gap in what we know.
The authorities set up rewards for information. How effective is that usually in places like rural Antioquia?
That's the real question, isn't it? Rewards only work if people are willing to talk. In areas where armed groups have control or influence, witnesses often stay silent out of fear. The phone line exists, but whether anyone will use it depends on whether they believe they can do so safely.
This was the second massacre in Salgar in a few months. Does that suggest the violence is escalating?
It suggests a pattern. Two incidents in four months in a rural municipality is significant. It points to either a specific conflict playing out in that area, or a broader breakdown in security that authorities haven't been able to contain. Either way, it's not a one-off.