Former mayor shot dead in Colombia amid election violence, raising fears for May vote

A former mayor allied with a presidential candidate was shot dead Saturday in central Colombia, along with one of his aides, authorities said, deepening fears of election-related violence two weeks before Colombians go to the polls.

Rogers Devia, who governed the municipality of Cubarral in Meta department between 2020 and 2023, and his staffer Eder Cardona were killed when gunmen attacked them in a rural part of the city, the Public Defender’s Office of Meta said in a posting on X. Cubarral lies about 170 kilometers (105 miles) south of Bogotá.

Devia was a supporter of Abelardo de La Espriella, the presidential candidate for the National Salvation Movement. De La Espriella is one of at least half a dozen contenders in the May 31 contest. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, a runoff between the top two is scheduled for June.

The killings occurred in a region contested by armed groups the U.S. government has designated as terrorist organizations, including a splinter faction of the once-dominant Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The Public Defender’s Office warned that the attacks could undermine “the exercise of political rights and democratic participation” ahead of the vote.

Colombia’s Interior Minister, Armando Benedetti, said on social media that investigators do not yet know the motive behind the assault on Devia. He added that police in Cubarral had recently thwarted an attack targeting a staffer for another presidential candidate, right-wing contender Paloma Valencia, indicating that the threat is not confined to a single campaign.

The violence comes as Colombia prepares for a crowded and closely watched election. Political killings, threats, and attacks on candidates and local officials have been a recurring feature of prior electoral cycles, especially in rural areas where state presence is thin and armed groups vie for control. The latest deaths add to pressure on the government to guarantee security for voters, poll workers, and the candidates themselves.

Colombian authorities have not yet attributed the attack to any specific group. Benedetti’s acknowledgment of a separate, foiled assault on Valencia’s staffer in the same municipality raised the possibility that multiple campaigns are being targeted in the run-up to the ballot.