Colombian Influencer María José Estupiñán Killed in Her Home, Sparking Outrage Over Gender-Based Violence

Maria Jose Estupinan, who was killed in Colombia on May 14, in a photo posted on her Facebook page

The brutal killing of 22-year-old Colombian model and social media influencer María José Estupiñán Sánchez has ignited national outrage and renewed scrutiny of femicide and gender-based violence in Latin America. The young university student was murdered on May 15 in her home in Cúcuta, a city in northeastern Colombia near the Venezuelan border.

According to Magda Victoria Acosta, president of the National Gender Commission of the Colombian Judiciary, Estupiñán was shot by a man disguised as a delivery worker. The attacker opened fire when she answered the door. Estupiñán’s mother was reportedly present during the attack.

“She was a young, enterprising woman with a whole life ahead of her, but those dreams are cut short like the dreams of many women in this country,” Acosta said during a press briefing.

Authorities confirmed that Estupiñán had previously been involved in a domestic violence case and was in the process of receiving compensation related to that incident. While officials have not yet declared her death a femicide, it has drawn strong condemnation from national agencies, with the Gender Commission pledging to pursue justice aggressively.

María José Estupiñan, known as “la mona,” was killed in Cúcuta, Colombia

Estupiñán had cultivated a strong social media presence, sharing images of her travels to New York and California, as well as glimpses into her daily life at the gym or by the pool. Her death has sparked comparisons with the recent killing of 23-year-old Mexican beauty influencer Valeria Márquez, who was shot during a livestream just two days earlier. Both cases have fueled public anger and highlighted the widespread and deadly consequences of gender-based violence in the region.

In Mexico, authorities in Jalisco are treating Márquez’s death as a suspected femicide—a classification defined as the gender-based killing of a woman or girl. While not every homicide of a woman qualifies as femicide, a significant proportion of such crimes in Latin America are categorized this way. Amnesty International reported that in 2020, 25% of female homicides in Mexico were investigated as femicides, with cases occurring in all 32 states.

In Colombia, gender-based violence remains pervasive. According to Human Rights Watch, women are often victims of domestic abuse and violence by armed groups. Survivors frequently face major barriers to justice, while perpetrators rarely face legal consequences. The National Gender Commission has recorded thousands of cases of domestic and gender violence, including sexual violence, psychological abuse, neglect, and abandonment.

Between January and August of the previous year, 41 women were reported missing in Colombia—34 of them in Cúcuta alone. Many of the missing women were minors, according to Acosta.

The northeastern region of Colombia has been increasingly unstable, with a surge in violent clashes between armed factions. The Catatumbo region, in particular, has seen intense fighting that displaced tens of thousands of residents in early 2024. Many of the displaced sought refuge in Cúcuta, prompting a major deployment of Colombian military and special forces to the area.

Estupiñán’s killing underscores the urgent need for stronger protections for women and greater accountability for acts of gender-based violence. Her case has become a symbol of the ongoing crisis that continues to claim the lives and futures of countless women across Latin America.