Five people were killed and four wounded after Colombian Farc guerrillas ambushed and attempted to kidnap a candidate for a governor's post in a southern province, authorities said today.
The attack underscored the vulnerability of politicians in rural Colombia despite the progress made by President Alvaro Uribe's US-backed security drive to defeat Latin America's oldest-surviving leftist insurgency.
Police said rebels attacked a convoy transporting Jose Alberto Perez, a Conservative Party candidate for the Guaviare province governorship in a special February 28th election organized after the previous governor was forced to step down.
Mr Perez was wounded when rebels opened fire in a roadside ambush that killed four police bodyguards and another person, police said.
The Farc, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, is at its weakest in decades after Mr Uribe's campaign to force the rebels back into jungles and mountains.
But the guerrilla group remains a threat in rural areas, aided by funds from their involvement in cocaine trafficking and extortion.
Last night's attack came as Colombia prepares for legislative elections in March and a presidential vote in May with Mr Uribe still uncertain about whether he will run for a consecutive third term in the coffee exporting nation.
In December, the FARC kidnapped and killed a governor of Caqueta State in a rare urban assault. Luis Cuellar was dragged from his home, bundled into a waiting jeep and later found with his throat cut.
Reuters