Guerrilla’s Sister Killed In Bogota

The sister of a leftist guerrilla leader was shot and killed Thursday as she sat in a beauty salon. It was the latest in a series of attacks and kidnappings targeting relatives of prominent rebels.

A lone gunman shot Beatriz Rodriguez, 49, twice in the head in Cucuta, 250 miles northeast of the capital, Bogota. The gunman escaped and Rodriguez died en route to the hospital.

Police said the motive for the killing was unclear, but Rodriguez’s brother, Nicolas Rodriguez, is second-in-command of the National Liberation Army, the country’s No. 2 rebel group.

Relatives of guerrilla leaders have been targeted in recent months as part of an apparent revenge campaign against insurgents by paramilitary groups with links to the military.

Rebels have accused the state of “hiding behind paramilitary groups to carry out terrorism.” The government says the insurgents have long abandoned their ideals, turning to drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.