José Leonardo Muete Ruiz, 25, was shot dead by two sicarios in a commercial establishment in Pitalito, Huila. The incident took place in the Sucre neighborhood, where the victim was with friends. Officials report he had nine open criminal investigations.
José Leonardo Muete Ruiz was attacked on Friday night in the los estancos sector, at carrera Sexta con calle Once in the Sucre neighborhood of Pitalito. An official source stated that two men arrived on a Pulsar NS motorcycle and shot him multiple times without warning. "The subjects arrived on a Pulsar NS motorcycle and shot him repeatedly with a firearm," the source said.
His friends aided him and rushed him to Hospital San Antonio, where he died from his wounds. The 25-year-old had nine entries in the Sistema Penal Oral Acusatorio as a suspect for crimes including homicide, prison escape, qualified and aggravated theft, manufacturing and trafficking of firearms, receiving stolen goods, and use of minors. He had been arrested in 2021 for stealing a pickup truck.
This marks the 25th murder in the Laboyos valley in 2026 so far, causing alarm in the Pitalito community. Hours earlier, John Chates Tovar, a 'gota a gota' debt collector, was killed on the road to San Agustín by armed men on a motorcycle.