Colombia Senator Dies After Attack

The vice president of Colombia’s Senate died Sunday of wounds suffered when he was gunned down in Medellin two days earlier by a hit team citing his role in writing a new drug trafficking law.

Dario Londono Cardona, 45, died of brain injuries, the Medellin Clinic said. He never regained consciousness after being shot in the head and arm at the University of Medellin, where he taught.

A previously unknown group called Death to Protectors of the Cali Cartel claimed responsibility for the attack minutes after the shooting in a phone call to a radio station.

The group said it attacked Londono because he helped write a new penal code that offers leniency to drug traffickers who surrender and tell authorities about their operations. The group, which said it backs fugitive Medellin cocaine cartel boss Pablo Escobar, said the law favors leaders of the rival Cali cartel.