Six people were murdered in the northern department of Cordoba over the weekend. Despite three security council meetings held so far this year to address instability in the region, violence does not appear to be decreasing.
All the victims died after being shot by hand guns. So far authorities have not found the perpetrators.
Among the victims was Pascual Jiménez, a lawyer who had survived a previous attempt at his life in April 2008. Jiménez, a candidate in the last regional elections, had been the defense lawyer of assassinated ex-paramilitary boss Jose Mara Pollo Lezcano.
Several of the other victims were killed by sicarios, drive-by hit men on motorbikes.
Cordoba Police Commissioner Sergio López Miranda said that the crime wave was most likely the product of a territorial dispute between rival drug gangs.
Although authorities have not released the exact figure of murders in Cordoba this year to date, El Tiempo estimates the number to be at least 230.
