An ex-councilor and his 13 year old daughter died when unknown
assailants opened fire on their car and set it on fire in the
municipality of Yarumal, in the department of Antioquia.
Jose Antonio Vasquez, the ex-councilor of Briceño and his daughter were attacked while driving along a highway from Yarumal to the neighboring town of Campamento.
The assailants opened fire on their car and then set it on fire, according to witnesses CaracolTV.com reported.
Yarumal Government Secretary Pablo Yamid Ramirez said that Vasquez had not reported receiving death threats.
Ramirez did not rule out that paramilitaries may have been behind the attack.
“It is commonly known that he was previously the Briceño councilor and that he was now working at his farm, in an area riddled with paramilitaries,” the official said.
The Police have reinforced control points in Yarumal and surrounding areas to try to ascertain the whereabouts of the murderers CaracolTV.com said.
The murders follow a recent report that the
homicide rate went up by 14 percent in the first five months of 2009.