Drug war leaves five dead in Columbia town

Jamundi, January 18

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A remote town was on edge Friday after at least five persons were found shot dead, highlighting Colombia’s struggle to bring peace to rural areas where drug crops are abundant and illegal armed groups are active.

The killings happened overnight in an isolated part of the Jamundi municipality in southwestern Colombia and also left two vehicles incinerated, officials said. It was the third massacre in Jamundi in the past year.

Authorities said two of the bodies were found under a bullet-riddled vehicle while three were located farther up a dirt road. All five had to be carried by horse to a nearby school and then flown by helicopter to a morgue, due to both dangerous conditions in the area and a lack of reliable roads.

Manuel Antonio Vásquez, commander of the Cali metropolitan police, said investigators believe the bloodshed stemmed from a conflict among illegal armed groups, with one criminal band suspecting that the victims were either from a rival gang competing for drug territory or a team of state investigators working in the region. — AP

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