A Colombian mayoral candidate was allegedly kidnapped by the FARC's 42nd Front in the central Meta province.
Edward Castellano, a candidate for Partido de la U, was seized while traveling down a freeway near the village of Nuevo Progreso and is now being held hostage, according to reports.
With regional elections set to take place in October, Colombia has experienced a recent spate of political killings. On June 7 a mayoral candidate was gunned down in his home, reportedly after receiving threats from the FARC, while in May two mayoral candidates were kidnapped and later killed, allegedly by the FARC’s 36th Front, in Antioquia.
In light of the danger to candidates, Meta police chief Marco Tulio Avendano advised all political candidates to report their movements to local police, something that Castellano had failed to do.
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