The Valle del Cauca Assembly held a plenary session in Buga to mark the 24th anniversary of the 2002 kidnapping of eleven deputies by Farc. Local leaders condemned past violence and urged against repetition, honoring the victims' memory. The event featured a homily and floral offering.
On April 13, 2026, in Buga, the Valle del Cauca Assembly conducted a decentralized plenary session to recall the kidnapping of twelve deputies on April 11, 2002, by Farc members at the assembly building. Eleven were killed in captivity on June 18, 2007, with Sigifredo López as the sole survivor released later.
Assembly President Luz Dey Martínez called it one of the most painful events in the department's and country's recent history, an assault on democracy and the rule of law. "Today, more than remembering the tragedy, we honor their lives. This act of memory is also a commitment to truth," she stated. Martínez noted Congress's recent approval designating April 11 as Deputies' Day.
Bishop Alexander Matiz Atencio stressed that such acts must never recur, as they harm not just families but democracy itself. Buga Mayor Karol Martínez Silva and Governor's Chief of Staff Liza Nathalia Rodríguez Galvis agreed it is active memory to dignify victims and advance peace policies.
The slain deputies were Juan Carlos Narváez, Francisco Javier Giraldo, Carlos Alberto Charry, Ramiro Echeverry, Alberto Quintero, Jairo Hoyos, Carlos Barragán López, Nacianceno Orozco, Édinson Pérez, Héctor Fabio Arizmendi, and Rufino Varela. The event included a homily and floral tribute.
