Next, on October 29, 2023, governors, mayors, deputies, councilors and mayors of each region of Colombia will be elected, and with a little more than three months to go until the start of the elections, alerts continue to be presented due to insecurity in various areas of the country putting the electoral processes at risk.
This reality has manifested itself more recently in La Guajira. Statistics from the National Police have recorded 89 intentional homicides in the department so far in 2023.
They also reveal 460 personal injuries, 1,163 thefts, 140 residential thefts, 151 commercial thefts, 66 car thefts, 413 motorcycle thefts, 2 kidnappings and 39 extortions.
According to the authorities, the previous data shows an increase in the commission of these crimes with respect to the previous year (2022).
It is for this reason that the Attorney General’s Office ordered the governor of La Guajira, Diala Patricia Wilches Cortina, to adopt preventive measures that guarantee security in the region for the upcoming regional elections.
Through a letter sent to the local president, the La Guajira Regional Attorney General’s Office pointed out that it is necessary to ensure peaceful elections for candidates, promoters of citizen participation mechanisms, campaign headquarters, polling stations and voters.
The foregoing, says the Public Ministry, occurs in the face of “the serious security and public order problems presented in recent months in the department, exacerbated in recent weeks, which call into question the guarantee of the process, at least in terms of order public and security.
Despite the fact that there are no known threats against any candidate, the Attorney General’s Office pointed out that there is uncertainty regarding the security of the territory: “there are various events in the department that prevent us from affirming categorically and definitively that all the guarantees have been given to date of the contest”.
He added that, in addition to the security and public order risks that may arise, it is necessary to consider the constant protests that may take place prior to the elections and that “eventually they can also cause trauma to the proper development of the election process of the authorities territorial”.
They demand the candidacy of “The Marlboro Man” for the Mayor of Maicao before the CNE
The candidacy of Samuel Santander Lopesierra, known as the ‘Marlboro Man’, for the Maicao Mayor’s Office has faced his first lawsuit before the National Electoral Council (CNE).
Lopesierra, who in the past was linked to drug trafficking, presented more than 63,000 signatures supporting his candidacy for the Independent Alternative Movement.
However, his past linked to drug trafficking has generated controversy and he is the subject of an investigation into an alleged contribution of 600 million pesos to Gustavo Petro’s presidential campaign in 2022.
The investigation indicates that this money would have been delivered to Nicolás Petro Burgos, as stated by Day Vásquez in an interview for Semana Magazine.
The case has been assigned to magistrate Álvaro Hernán Prada for study, although a final decision has not yet been made, it is expected that the registration will be revoked due to the clear legal provision that prohibits people convicted of drug trafficking in Colombia or abroad. be candidates.
Despite the filing of the lawsuit against him, the final decision on Lopesierra’s candidacy rests with the National Electoral Council. However, many believe that the application of the law will be clear and his registration will be revoked due to his past related to drug trafficking.
If Lopesierra were to win the regional elections in October 2023, it would mark his return to politics after more than 20 years of absence. with Infobae
