Authorities in the north-Colombian Cucuta arrested the city’s former mayor after being sentenced to 27 years in prison for ordering the murder of his political opponent in 2003.
A Bogota court considered it proven that former mayor Ramiro Suarez Corzo asked a paramilitary death squad to “neutralize” his opponent Alfredo Enrique Florez Ramirez who according to Suarez had ties to the FARC.
A lower court previously absolved the politician of the murder charges, but this decision was revoked by the Superior Tribunal of Bogota, who ordered Suarez to be sent to prison for 27 years.
The politician was arrested Friday while attending an event celebrating the launch of the mayoral campaign of Andres Cristo.
Suarez is one of dozens of Colombian politicians who sought political gain by using intimidation or the military powers of the AUC, the now-defunct paramilitary organization accused of having murdered tens of thousands of Colombians