Two presidential campaign workers were killed in Colombia just two weeks before the South American nation heads to the polls. The incident was announced by right-wing presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who said attackers on a motorcycle shot the victims in Meta province on Friday evening.
On social media platform X, de la Espriella wrote that the two employees “traveled along roads protecting the democracy, freedom and hope of millions of Colombians.” “Their only crime was believing in the Fatherland and not kneeling before violence,” the candidate added.
Colombia’s human rights ombudsman's office identified the victims as Rogers Mauricio Devia Escoba, former mayor of the town of Cubarral, and his adviser Eder Fabian Cardona Lopez. The office also reported a separate attack targeting a former mayoral candidate in the region, but provided no further details.
While the attacks are under investigation, the ombudsman's office warned they could affect “the exercise of political rights and democratic participation” in the upcoming May 31 election. “Violence, threats, and any form of intimidation weaken public debate, increase risks for political and social leaders, and undermine democratic coexistence,” the office said in a statement.
Meta province has long been a stronghold for both rebel groups and cocaine trafficking. Rising violence and crime have become prominent issues in the presidential race to replace the country’s first leftist leader, Gustavo Petro.
The frontrunner in the presidential race is leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda, who promises to continue the course set by Petro, which advocates a negotiated solution to Colombia's armed conflict. In contrast, de la Espriella fashions himself after populist right-wing leaders such as El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele and Argentina's President Javier Milei.
Polls show de la Espriella in second place with over 20% support, followed by center-right Senator Paloma Valencia. Meanwhile, Cepeda enters the first round of voting with backing from 37% to 40%. As of March, a total of 14 candidates had registered for the presidential race.
At least three candidates have reported receiving death threats. The leading contenders all travel with heavy security details. Last year, Cepeda's vice-presidential running mate, indigenous activist and state Senator Aida Quilcue, was briefly kidnapped by a dissident faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This is one of the splinter groups that rejected the 2016 peace accord with the government, under which the FARC — then the largest left-wing rebel group — agreed to disarm. Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe was also shot at a rally in June 2025 in Bogotá and died from his wounds two months later, in August.
