Former mayor of the municipality of Bahia Solano in the northern Choco department, Jose Ignacio Navarrete, was killed while walking in a Medellin neighborhood reported RCN Radio Wednesday.
The former mayor was shot several times after being approached by two unknown assassins in the Colores neighborhood of Medellin stated Deputy Commander of the Metropolitan Police, Colonel Juan Pablo Guerrero.
Navarrete was dismissed from his position as mayor of the municipality in 2008 by the Inspector General’s Office for violating the code of conduct for a public official and was subsequently barred from holding public office for a period of ten years.
The government in Choco has been riddled with problems stemming from both internal corruption and threats against public officials.
The current governor of Choco, Malcom Ali Cordoba, announced that mayors of towns like Lloro and Atrato are having to flee their municipalities and govern from the capital, Quibdo, because of threats to their lives. Mayors in areas affected by violence are requesting aid from security forces to protect their municipalities and nearby roads from armed criminal groups.
Malcom Ali Cordoba is the fourth governor in one year in Choco and is the youngest in the country at 28 years of age. His predecessor was ousted for political corruption.