Colombia and Brazil Lead World in Murders of Environmental and Land Defenders, Report Finds

Colombia and Brazil have been named the world’s most perilous nations for environmental and land defenders, according to the latest findings released by the international advocacy group Global Witness. The organization's annual review exposes a relentless pattern of deadly violence aimed at activists struggling to safeguard their ancestral territories, forests, and natural ecosystems from exploitation.

According to the comprehensive report, at least 124 environmentalists and land defenders were murdered worldwide over the course of 2025. Colombia recorded the highest individual national toll, suffering 39 confirmed killings during the year, while neighboring Brazil registered the second-highest tally with 26 documented deaths.

The findings illustrate that Latin America remains the global epicenter of lethal attacks against ecological activists. Global Witness revealed that 85 percent of all documented killings throughout 2025 occurred within the region, cementing Latin America's position as the deadliest part of the world for land defenders in every single report published by the group since tracking began in 2012.

The primary catalyst behind the overwhelming majority of these lethal incidents continues to be territorial conflict. The watchdog's research notes that disputes over property and natural resources are frequently resolved through extreme violence, with assassinations regularly orchestrated and executed by hired contract killers or powerful organized crime syndicates operating across rural landscapes.

Colombia’s grim standing in the latest publication marks the fourth consecutive year that the South American nation has ranked as the deadliest country on Earth for those defending territory and nature. Activists across the country face persistent danger, with violence heavily concentrated in regions where state authority is fragile and illegal enterprises thrive.

The human toll in Colombia has fallen disproportionately on marginalized communities. Global Witness determined that nearly half of all defenders assassinated within the country were members of Indigenous populations, while a substantial portion of the remaining victims were small-scale farmers trying to protect their local agricultural environments.

In response to the pervasive danger, numerous Indigenous communities throughout Colombia have organized their own unarmed security structures, known as Indigenous guards. These grassroots networks patrol ancestral borders and monitor community lands, functioning without firearms despite operating in zones marked by severe conflict.

These unarmed guards frequently find themselves squarely in the crosshairs of illegal armed groups. Criminal organizations routinely seek to seize and expand control over rural territories to cultivate coca—the primary botanical raw ingredient utilized to produce cocaine—or to establish lucrative, unregulated illegal mining operations.

The lethal risks confronting these defenders were underscored by the recent killing of Jacob Guachetá Zambrano, an active member of the local Indigenous guard in Colombia's southwestern Cauca department. His body was recovered last week showing extensive evidence of torture, highlighting the acute brutality visited upon community leaders.

Although an official inquiry into the precise motives behind Guachetá Zambrano’s killing remains ongoing and authorities continue to search for the perpetrators, local Indigenous authorities stressed that violence has become routine in the area. Community leaders emphasized that targeted killings, active death threats, and forced disappearances are widespread occurrences as rival illegal armed organizations violently contest territory across Cauca.

The crisis is similarly acute in Brazil, where Global Witness documented an alarming surge in lethal force against land defenders. The country saw the number of recorded murders double in 2025 compared to figures gathered in 2024, presenting a severe escalation in threats facing local ecological advocates.

Just as in Colombia, researchers identified deep-seated territorial disputes as the principal engine of violence in Brazil. Clashes over land rights and resource extraction continue to expose defenders and rural communities to severe harm from illicit actors seeking control of vast natural terrains.

While Latin America endured the vast majority of lethal violence, the crisis extends to other continents. Asia accounted for 12 percent of the total documented killings worldwide in 2025, with the Philippines recording the highest concentration of fatal attacks in the region after logging 12 confirmed activist deaths.

On a global scale, the overall count of documented murders declined slightly, dropping from 146 recorded killings in 2024 to 128 cases in 2025. Nonetheless, Global Witness cautioned against viewing this numerical decrease as a definitive sign of improving conditions on the ground.

The organization warned that its figures likely represent a significant underestimate of the true scale of lethal violence. Across many rural and remote regions globally, violent incidents, lethal threats, and killings frequently go unreported due to fear of reprisal, geographic isolation, and an absence of official oversight.

The deadly environment facing defenders across Latin America was further evidenced by high-profile killings in recent years, such as the 2024 assassination of Honduran anti-mining campaigner Juan López. The persistent loss of life underscores the continuing vulnerability of activists confronting organized criminal networks and illicit resource exploitation worldwide.