Police are investigating a possible link between an assassination attempt against an ombudsman official and a plot against anti-drug official Ana Margarita Duran, Caracol TV reported Wednesday.
Lina Piedad Sierra, who works for Colombia’s Ombudsman Office, was shot in the head after leaving a Bogota prison in a taxi. Two men wearing National Penitentiary and Prison Institute uniforms attacked her vehicle. She has been hospitalized, but her brother told Caracol that Sierra is “out of danger.”
Colombian police are investigating a potential link between this crime and a plot uncovered Tuesday to assassinate the head of drug control agency UNAIM.
The scheme, orchestrated by Colombian drug lord Daniel “Loco” Barrera, was revealed to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration by a source who was reportedly meant to take part in the attack against Duran.
“The Prosecutor General’s Office is already taking measures to strengthen the protection of the official [Duran] … the policy of this administration is to strengthen the safety of any official of any unit, against any threats or harassment, when their life is in danger,” Deputy Prosecutor General Juan Carlos Forero told Caracol Radio Wednesday.