The president of the congressional Accusations Commission that investigates crimes committed by the heads of the executive and judicial branches survived an assassination attempt in central Colombia Sunday.
House Representative Constantino Rodriguez, president of the congressional Accusations Commission that investigates crimes committed by the heads of the executive and judicial branches, told press he and others were attacks while attending a farmers’ celebration in his native Guaviare department.
The lawmaker told radio station Blu that armed men approached the party after which a local army unit opened fire and “a long and intense firefight began.”
The members of the military were able to fight off the attacks, who the lawmaker accused of being leftist rebels.
“There is no doubt those responsible belong to the FARC,” Rodriguez told the radio station.
According to local media, the representative has been a vociferous opponent of the FARC and other illegal armed groups active in his department and was the victim of assassination attempts three times before.
According to weekly Semana, Rodriguez is one of the least active members of Congress and was barely heard of until he asked the commission he presides to end the investigation against top judges for an alleged scheme within the justice system in which top officials would corruptly grant each other jobs in order to have the right to higher pensions. His initiative to try to close the investigation spurred fury of Prosecutor General Eduardo Montealegre who threatened to sue the lawmaker before the Supreme Court.