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A former mayor allied with a right-wing presidential candidate and his aide were shot dead in central Colombia on Friday night, just two weeks before the country heads to the polls, according to reports from Al Jazeera and The Hindu.

The victims were identified by Colombia's citizens' rights ombudsman as Rogers Mauricio Devia Escoba, a former mayor of Cubarral, and his adviser Eder Fabian Cardona Lopez, as reported by Al Jazeera. The Hindu also confirmed the deaths, identifying the victims as Rogers Devia and his staffer Eder Cardona.

Coverage Comparison

Both Al Jazeera and The Hindu reported the killings, with Al Jazeera focusing on the broader context of political violence and the presidential race, while The Hindu provided additional details about the region's security situation and the investigation.

Al Jazeera reported that the killings were announced by right-wing presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who said gunmen on motorbikes shot the victims in the central department of Meta. The Hindu also noted that de la Espriella, who represents the National Salvation Movement, had an alliance with the former mayor.

Key Claims

  • The killings occurred in the rural area of Cubarral, a city Devia governed between 2020 and 2023, located about 170 kilometers south of Bogota, according to the Public Defender's Office of Meta, as reported by The Hindu.
  • In a post on X, de la Espriella said the two staffers "walked the streets defending democracy, freedom, and the hope of millions of Colombians," adding that "their only crime was believing in the Fatherland and not kneeling before the violent," as quoted by Al Jazeera.
  • The citizens' rights ombudsman warned that the attacks could affect the "exercise of political rights and democratic participation" in the upcoming election on May 31, according to both sources. The ombudsman also said another attack took place against a former mayoral candidate in the area, without providing further details, as reported by Al Jazeera.
  • Colombia's Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said investigators do not know why Devia was attacked, and added that police had recently stopped an attack against a staffer of another presidential candidate, Paloma Valencia, in the same city, as reported by The Hindu.

Perspectives

The killings have heightened concerns about political violence in Colombia, a country where Meta has long been a stronghold for rebel fighters and cocaine trafficking, according to Al Jazeera. The region is under dispute by two groups labelled as terrorists by the U.S. government and a third group, a splinter of the once dominant guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), as reported by The Hindu.

Violence and surging crime have featured prominently in the presidential race to replace the country's first leftist leader, Gustavo Petro. The frontrunner in the race is left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda, who has promised to continue the course charted by Petro, according to Al Jazeera. At least three candidates have reported receiving death threats, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The election, scheduled for May 31, will feature at least half a dozen candidates, including two members of smaller left-wing parties. If no candidate gets 50% of the votes, a run-off will take place in June between the top two contenders, as reported by The Hindu.

The ombudsman's office said in a statement that "violence, threats, and any form of intimidation undermine public debate, deepen risks for political and social leaderships, and weaken democratic coexistence," as quoted by Al Jazeera.