Eighteen candidates standing for Colombian Congress in March’s elections are named in ongoing proceedings of the Supreme Court’s Justice and Peace tribunal, reported El Tiempo on Wednesday.
The majority of those mentioned have been linked with crimes involving parapolitics and dealings with Colombian guerrilla group FARC, although none have been convicted.
Of the eighteen candidates named, seven are from the Partido de la U, two from Cambio Radical, three from the Partido Liberal, two from PIN, two from the Partido Conservador and two from Polo.
One of the most controversial congressional candidates for PIN is the former representative of Caqueta, Luis Fernando Almario, who is running to regain the seat he was forced to renounce after the Supreme Court began investigating his alleged links with the FARC and his role in the guerrilla group’s murder of Colombian politician Diego Turbay Cote.
Almario has denied the allegations, saying, “I am a victim of the armed groups, not their ally.”
The report naming the implicated candidates was released by investigatory organization Corporacion Nuevo Arco Iris. To see the full list, click here.