World
Julio Rodriguez, indigenous leader of Jivi Ekunay people, found dead following kidnapping in Venezuela
Julio Rodriguez, leader of the indigenous Jivi Ekunay people in Venezuela, was kidnapped on August 2, 2026, by Colombian guerrillas in a mining area of southern Venezuela near the Colombian border. He was found dead following the abduction, with the news reported on August 12, 2026, by Le Monde. His people's territory in southern Venezuela contains part of the country's underground mineral resources. The precise circumstances of the kidnapping and death remain from a single source and have not yet been independently confirmed.