April 28 (UPI) -- A wave of attacks in southwestern Colombia has transformed the country's presidential campaign into a debate over national security weeks before voters head to the polls on May 31.
More than 30 attacks carried out between Friday and Saturday in the departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca killed 21 people and wounded 56 others, renewing concerns over security guarantees ahead of the election.
Paloma Valencia, a presidential candidate from the right-wing Centro Democrático, said Monday that dissident factions of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, were plotting to assassinate her. President Gustavo Petro and Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez dismissed the claim.
In recent interviews with Colombian media outlets El Espectador and Caracol Radio, Sánchez said authorities still guarantee full security conditions for the presidential election despite the violence.
The defense minister announced deployment of 25,000 security personnel to southwestern Colombia, the epicenter of the violence, and a reward of about $1,4 million for Iván Jacobo Idrobo Arredondo, also known as "Marlon," leader of the Western Bloc of the FARC dissident groups.
