One day before taking office, the mayor-elect of a town in the southwest Colombian department of Nariño was shot and killed by unknown gunmen Saturday.
“This morning two unknown men hot and killed, in front of his house, the mayor-elect of Santa Cruz-Guachaves, Jaime Chatazar, outgoing Government Secretary of Nariño Fabio Trujillo told Spanish press agency EFE.
Chatazar, a local indigenous leader, was elected into office in October’s elections with the endorsement of the Indigenous Authorities of Colombia (AICO).
According to Trujillo, authorities are investing the case.
Electoral observers of the Electoral Observation Mission MOE said that before the October 30 local and departmental elections, 41 electoral candidates. After the elections, one of the observers of the MOE was assassinated in the Putumayo department that neighbors Nariño.
Both department have a high presence of guerrilla and drug trafficking groups.