A north Colombian gubernatorial candidate was shot in the leg Saturday while delivering a speech.
Juan Francisco Gomez Cerchar, the Radical Change party’s frontrunner for the governor’s office in La Guajira, was injured in the attack along with one of his body guards.
Gomez Cerchar was recently challenged by several NGOs for having ties to paramilitaries and smuggling activities.
La Guajira, located in the Northeast of Colombia is one of the country’s most contentious regions where murder rates have topped the nation’s average this year among major cities. The conflict is due to the area being a departure point for drug shipments, an entry point for smuggling, and a transit zone towards Venezuela.
According to the NGO Election Obveservation Mission (MOE) between February 2nd and September 26th of this year, 36 candidates for regional elections have been killed, 83 were threatened, 17 have suffered attacks, and six others were kidnapped.