The driver of the vice president of Colombia’s House of Representatives died Sunday after armed men opened fire on a convoy in which they equivocally thought the politician was driving.
According to a local army commander, the convoy of Representative Albeiro Vanegas Osorio was attacked around 7AM on the road from the town of Arauca to the town of Tame, where the politician was registered to cast his vote in local and regional elections.
Vanegas Osorio was not in one of the cars, but had decided to take a helicopter to Tame where he arrived safely.
However, the politician’s driver was killed in the attack that was carried out by five men in civilian clothing.
The Aracua department has seen an increase in violence leading up to the elections. Last week, 10 soldiers were killed by guerrillas in the same area as Sunday’s attack on the politician. Following the soldiers’ deaths, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos vowed to send extra troops to the troubled department and said guerrilla forces in the area would not be able to disturb the elections.
