Colombia Army Wife Is Slain; Terrorism Cited
The wife of a Colombian army colonel was shot to death by unidentified attackers in northern Bogota on Tuesday morning, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.
He said the army has no known motive for the killing but the spokesman added: “Terrorism in the country is so savage that people are being killed simply because they are family members of military personnel.”
The Colombian government declared war on the nation’s drug barons Aug. 18 after a rash of killings, including that of a leading presidential candidate who had campaigned against narcotics trafficking.
Tuesday’s fatality was Angela Piedra de Guerrero, the wife of Col. Carlos Guerrero Pena.
Declaration of War
The Defense Ministry spokesman, asked whether Guerrero Pena had been active in the government’s anti-narcotics effort, said he had been no more involved than anyone else in Colombia’s armed forces.
However, the shadowy group called “The Extraditables,” a name apparently used by suspected drug traffickers sought by the United States, said in a “declaration of total war” against the Colombian government last month that “we will not respect the family members of those who have not respected ours.”
“The Extraditables” have claimed responsibility for 10 of nearly 30 bomb attacks in Colombia over the past 10 days.
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