2021 in Colombia

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2021 Timeline of Colombian history

Events in the year 2021 in Colombia .

See also: 2021 in South America and 2021 in the Caribbean

Incumbents

• President: Iván Duque Márquez
• Vice President: Marta Lucía Ramírez

Events

• Continuous— COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia

January

• January 5 – General Luis Fernando Navarro says that illegal armed groups lost 5,120 members in 2020. The number includes deaths, capture, and desertions. He said the National Liberation Army (ELN) still has 2,450 members and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has 2,500. ^[1]
• January 17 – Scientists say the cocaine hippos in the Magdalena river basin are breeding voraciously and are an increasing menace so they must be culled. ^[2]
• January 25
  • FARC changes its name to Comunes ("Commoners"). ^[3]
  • Notorious paramilitary commander, drug trafficker, and sexual abuser of young girls Hernán Giraldo Serna ("El Taladro") finishes his sentence in the United States and returns to Colombia. ^[4]
• January 29 – 647 Haitian nationals, 23 Cubans, and 19 migrants from African countries are stranded on a beach in Necoclí, Antioquia Department, hoping to pass through the Darién Gap to Panama and, eventually, the United States. ^[5]
• January 31 – Seven adults and seven children are killed and 16 people are missing after two boats collide near Tumaco, Nariño Department. ^[6]

February

• February 8 – Cuba warns of an attack on Bogotá by the ELN in the "next few days." Mayor Claudia López Hernández and Defense Minister Diego Molano Vega say they take the threat seriously. ^[7]

March

• March 3 – Ten former members of FARC are killed in a military bombing on Calamar, Guaviare. Three "dissidents" are captured. ^[8]
• March 10 – A 26-year-old woman and her 4-year-old daughter are killed in a landslide in Siloé, Cali. ^[9]
• March 27 – A car bomb explodes in Corinto, Cauca, injuring eleven. ^[10] A later report indicates 43 were injured. ^[11]
• March 30 – The government sets up a camp in Arauquita, Arauca, Arauca for 4,700 refugees from Apure, Venezuela. ^[12]

April

• April 28 – The 2021 Colombian protests against tax increases begin.

September

• September 27 -– Gásper, a rescue dog at the Bogotá Fire Department's Puente Aranda station, goes missing during a search operation at Guadalupe Hill. His disappearance receives much local, national news coverage and sympathy from the public. He is found 2 days later on the 29th. ^[13]

Deaths

January

Gildardo García

Mireya Arboleda

• 1 January – Pablo Hernández, racing cyclist (born 1940). ^{[14] [15]}
• 2 January – Laura Weinstein, transexual activist; respiratory complications. ^[16]
• 11 January – Luis Adriano Piedrahita, 74, Roman Catholic bishop and theologian; COVID-19; ^[17] (b. 1946)
• 12 January – Álvaro Mejía, long-distance runner (born 1940). ^[18]
• 14 January – Antún Castro Urrutia, 74, musician and actor. ^[19]
• 15 January – Gildardo García, chess player (born 1954). ^[20]
• 21 January – Calixto Avena, 77, footballer; COVID-19. ^[21]
• 26 January – Carlos Holmes Trujillo, 69, politician, Defense Minister; COVID-19. ^[22]
• 27 January – Bertulfo Álvarez, 69, guerrilla fighter (Caribbean Bloc of the FARC-EP). ^[23]

February

• 2 February
  • Héctor Epalza Quintero, 80, Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Buenaventura (2004–2017). ^[24]
  • Yordan Guetio, social activist in Corinto, Cauca; murdered. ^[25]
• 17 February – Beder Guerra Gutiérrez, 67, journalist. ^[26]
• 21 February – Mireya Arboleda, 92, classical pianist. ^[27]
• 23 February – Herbin Hoyos, 53, journalist and broadcaster (Las voces del secuestro) who was in exile in Spain; COVID-19. ^[28]
• February 25 – Juan Francisco Sarasti Jaramillo, 82, archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cali (2002–2011); COVID-19. ^[29]
• 28 February – Jorge Oñate, 71, vallenato singer; complications from COVID-19. ^[30]

March

• 2 March – Telma Barria Pinzón, diplomat (consul of Panama in Colombia); drowned ^[31]
• 24 March – Pedro Saúl Morales, 61, racing cyclist; heart attack. ^[32]
• 29 March – Antonio Caro, 71, conceptual artist; heart failure. ^[33]

April

• 11 April – Guillermo Berrio, 53, footballer; cardiac arrest ^[34]
• 13 April - Morgan Blanco, 85, accordionist and songwriter ^[35]
• 14 April – Eduardo Enríquez Maya, 72, politician; COVID-19 ^[36]

May

• 1 May - José Daniel Falla Robles, 65, bishop; COVID-19 ^[37]
• 13 May - Pablo Uribe, 90, Olympic fencer ^[38]
• 17 May - Jesús Santrich, 54, revolutionary; murdered ^[39]
• 26 May - Arturo de Jesús Correa Toro, 80, bishop; COVID-19 ^[40]

References

1. Acosta, Luis Jaime; Griffin, Oliver (January 5, 2021). Baum, Bernadette (ed.). "Colombia's illegal armed groups lost more than 5,000 members in 2020 -military commander". Reuters. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
2. Charles, Matthew (January 17, 2021). "Colombia's rapidly breeding 'cocaine hippos' must be stopped, scientists say". news.yahoo.com. The Telegraph. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
3. "Former Colombian guerrillas shed their decades-old name". news.yahoo.com. AP. January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
4. "Some Colombians fear ex-paramilitary leader deported from US". AP NEWS. 25 January 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
5. "Colombia reports almost 700 migrants stranded in Caribbean region". Reuters. 29 January 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
6. "Colombia boat disaster: Search continues for missing". BBC News. February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
7. "Bogota taking rebel attack threat 'very seriously': mayor". msn.com. AFP. February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
8. "Ten rebels killed, three captured in Colombia military bombing". Reuters. 3 March 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
9. "Madre e hija de 4 años murieron en deslizamiento de tierra en Siloé, Cali". infobae (in European Spanish). March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
10. "At least 16 injured in Colombia car bomb blast". news.yahoo.com. Reuters. March 27, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
11. "Atentado con coche bomba deja 43 personas heridas en Colombia". jornada.com.mx (in Spanish). La Jornada. March 27, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
12. "Casi 5 mil venezolanos cruzaron la frontera por los combates y Colombia instalará un centro de atención para migrantes". infobae (in European Spanish). March 30, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
13. "Los personajes que tuvieron su cuarto de hora en el 2021 en Bogotá" [The characters who had their fifteen minutes of fame in 2021 in Bogotá]. El Tiempo. 31 December 2021. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
14. "Falleció el excampeón Pablo Hernández". eje21.com.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2021.
15. "Pablo Hernández". olympedia.org. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
16. "El legado de Laura Weinstein para la población trans en Colombia". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 2 January 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
17. "Luto en la iglesia: obispo de Santa Marta y sacerdote en Cartagena, las más recientes víctimas del Covid-19". infobae (in European Spanish). January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
18. "Álvaro Mejía". olympedia.org. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
19. Murió el compositor y actor chocoano Antún Castro (in Spanish)
20. "Luto en el ajedrez colombiano: muere el Gran Maestro Gildardo García". eltiempo.com (in Spanish). 15 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
21. Calixto Avena, exportero de selección Colombia, falleció por secuelas del covid (in Spanish)
22. "Colombia's defense minister dies from COVID-19 at age 69". AP NEWS. 26 January 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
23. Muere "Bertulfo Álvarez", miembro del antiguo secretariado de las FARC (in Spanish)
24. Bishop Héctor Epalza Quintero
25. "Asesinaron a otro líder social, esta vez fue en Corinto, Cauca". infobae (in European Spanish). February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
26. Falleció en Valledupar el periodista Beder Guerra Gutiérrez (in Spanish)
27. Obituario: Mireya Arboleda de Cruz (in Spanish)
28. Torrado, Santiago (24 February 2021). "Muere el periodista colombiano Herbin Hoyos, creador del programa radial 'Las voces del secuestro'". EL PAÍS (in Spanish). El Pais. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
29. Monseñor Juan Francisco Sarasti, arzobispo emérito de Cali, falleció hoy a sus 82 años a causa de Covid 19 (in Spanish)
30. Murió Jorge Oñate, el Jilguero de América (in Spanish)
31. "La cónsul de Panamá en Bogotá muere al ser arrastrado su vehículo por un río". msn.com. EFE. March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
32. El ciclismo colombiano está de luto: falleció Pedro Saúl Morales (in Spanish)
33. Falleció el artista conceptual colombiano Antonio Caro (in Spanish)
34. Heraldo, El. "Fallece de un infarto Guillermo 'el Teacher' Berrío". EL HERALDO (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 January 2022.
35. "Adiós a Morgan Blanco, 'el virtuoso del acordeón'" [Farewell to Morgan Blanco, 'virtuoso of the accordion'], El Tiempo (in Spanish), 2021-04-13, retrieved 2025-09-08
36. Alvarado, Abel (15 April 2021). "Muere senador conservador colombiano que tenía covid-19". CNN (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 January 2022.
37. "By coronavirus, Monsignor José Daniel Falla, bishop of Soacha for 5 years, died". Archyde. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
38. "Olympedia – Pablo Uribe". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
39. Turkewitz, Julie; Kurmanaev, Anatoly (19 May 2021). "Colombia Rebel Commander 'Jesús Santrich' Killed, Venezuelan Officials Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
40. "Fallece monseñor Arturo Correa, obispo emérito de Ipiales". Conferencia Episcopal de Colombia. (in Spanish). 26 May 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022.