Two campaign activists for Colombia's right-wing presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella were killed in the southeast of the country just two weeks before the presidential election, his party “Defenders of the Homeland“ reported, quoted by Reuters, reports News.bg.
Rogers Mauricio Devia and Fabian Cardona were shot dead on Friday evening in a rural area near Cubaral, in the Meta department. The party said four masked men on motorcycles intercepted them and opened fire.
Devia is a former mayor of Cubaral and coordinated De la Espriella's local campaign, while Cardona was in charge of logistics. The two traveled by motorcycle from the city of Villavicencio, transporting campaign materials.
"They were cowardly killed in cold blood," Abelardo De la Espriella said in a video message.
Colombian authorities have not yet said who was behind the attack. The candidate has accused a dissident faction of the former guerrilla organization Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), without providing evidence.
According to sociological surveys, De la Espriella is in second place behind leftist candidate Ivan Cepeda before the first round of the elections, scheduled for May 31.
The candidate is campaigning on promises of tough measures against guerrilla groups, criminal gangs and drug trafficking. His proposals include air strikes on rebel camps and the resumption of the destruction of coca plantations.
De la Espriella recently said that a sniper attack is being prepared against him, in which, according to him, representatives of state intelligence are involved.
Colombians will elect a successor to President Gustavo Petro. If none of the candidates receives more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round, a runoff will take place on June 21.