<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The murder of a 22-year-old model and influencer in Colombia has sent shock waves through the country and drawn parallels to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/tiktok-beauty-influencer-shot-dead-during-live-stream-in-mexico/f2b84ecb-f81b-4f2e-a26d-d73002384fe5" rel="" target="_blank" title="the killing of a Mexican influencer"><span>the killing of a Mexican influencer</span></a><span> last week, highlighting the high rates of femicide in Latin America.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Maria Jose Estupinan, a university student in Colombia's northeastern city of Cucuta, close to the Venezuela border, was killed on May 15, according to Magda Victoria Acosta, president of the National Gender Commission of the Colombian Judiciary.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Speaking at a news conference, Acosta said the suspect, disguised as a delivery man, shot Estupinan in her home when she opened the door.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-landsborough-campground-volunteer-group-leader-allegedly-charged-for-entering-tents-and-stealing-childrens-underwear/79f1a593-8876-42dd-acc0-84afbddca20c" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Volunteer group leader charged after allegedly stealing children's underwear</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Estupinan had been the victim of a domestic violence case and was about to receive compensation for it, Acosta added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said the commission "very strongly" condemned the crime and would work to deliver justice.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/colombian-models-murder-just-days-after-mexican-influencer-shot-on-live-stream-sparks-condemnation-of-femicide/cf4a7b4f-bb61-480d-8f9a-845811963f23" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Authorities are investigating the killing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>CNN has reached out to the Colombian National Police and prosecutor's office for more information.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Estupinan's Facebook page showed photos of her travels and daily life, including trips to New York and California, and of her posing by the pool or at the gym.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The case has been covered widely by local media and spread on social media, with many comparing it to the May 13 shooting of 23-year-old beauty influencer Valeria Marquez in Mexico.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-education-school-student-biometric-data-collected-for-weeks-before-department-became-aware/ceb9e264-caee-4f4e-af9e-ab437513be9a" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Biometric data collected at schools for weeks before NSW Education was aware</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Just days before Estupinan's death, Marquez was killed during a live stream at a salon by a male intruder.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Officials in Mexico's Jalisco state said they are investigating Marquez's death as a suspected femicide – the killing of a woman or girl for gender-based reasons.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While not all homicides involving women are femicides, many are.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In 2020, a quarter of female killings in Mexico were investigated as femicides, with cases reported in each one of the country's 32 states, according to Amnesty International.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Acosta did not say whether Estupinan's death was a suspected femicide – but her killing has highlighted the sheer scale of violence against women in Colombia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gender-based violence in the country is widespread, including by armed groups, according to non-profit organisation Human Rights Watch.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Survivors face many obstacles in seeking care or justice, and perpetrators are rarely held accountable, the group noted in its World Report 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/dandenong-crime-woman-struck-with-machete-during-alleged-carjacking-at-melbourne-petrol-station/70e0ca02-2b37-4d4b-847e-c0d4133e7c9d" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Woman struck with machete during carjacking at Melbourne petrol station</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Colombia's National Gender Commission has logged thousands of cases of gender and domestic violence, including high rates of sexual violence, neglect, abandonment and psychological violence, Acosta said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some 41 women were reported missing in Colombia between January and August last year – with 34 cases in Cucuta, where Estupinan lived, Acosta said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Many of the women were minors.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Northeast Colombia has been particularly volatile in recent months, with a sharp rise in fighting between militant factions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Escalating violence in the Catatumbo region displaced tens of thousands of people in January, many of whom flocked to Cucuta, where Colombia's military deployed thousands of soldiers and special forces.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/"><strong><span>National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service</span></strong></a><strong><span> 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the 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