Colombia and Brazil deadliest countries for environmental activists, report says

Colombia has again topped the list of countries with the highest number of killings of land and environmental activists, according to an annual report by campaign group Global Witness , external .

Out of at least 124 activists killed globally in 2025, 39 were murdered in Colombia, followed by Brazil with 26.

Global Witness says that 85% of the documented killings took place in Latin America, making it the deadliest region for every year since the group started publishing its reports in 2012.

Most of the killings were part of land disputes and in many cases they were carried out by hitmen or members of organised crime gangs, the report states.

Colombia has accounted for the highest number of murders of environmental activists for the past four years.

Almost half of those killed in the country were members of indigenous groups, while many of the remaining ones were small-scale farmers, Global Witness's report says.

Many indigenous groups in Colombia have created their own protection networks in the form of indigenous guards, which patrol their territory but are unarmed.

Members of indigenous guards are often targeted by illegal armed groups looking to expand their territory to plant coca - the raw material used to make cocaine - or to engage in illegal mining.