Court witness killed in Colombia

1 July 2011 Last updated at 21:10 GMT Mr Gomez was killed in Arboletes, an area once dominated by the paramilitaries One of the main witnesses in a court case investigating politicians' links to right-wing paramilitaries in Colombia has been killed.

Luis Eduardo Gomez, 70, was shot dead by gunmen in his home in Arboletes, in north-western Antioquia province.

He is the second witness in the case to be killed this week, officials say.

Prosecutors are investigating scores of local politicians over their alleged links to the paramilitary United Self-Defence Forces.

The United Self-Defence Forces, or AUC, was formed by landowners and drug traffickers in the 1990s to combat Colombia's left-wing guerrillas.

The group demobilised under a 2003 peace agreement with the government, and around 30,000 fighters surrendered their weapons.

Mr Gomez, a freelance journalist, had testified in the court case which is investigating more than 20 local politicians over their alleged links to the AUC.

The group is accused of forcing thousands of people off their land as well as dealing in drugs, forcibly recruiting minors and killing hundreds of people they suspected of being rebels or rebel sympathisers.

Prosecutors say the AUC built up close connections with a number of local and national politicians, financing their campaigns in exchange for their backing in local government and Congress.

Many current or former members of Congress have been jailed or investigated for allegedly conspiring or collaborating with the AUC paramilitaries, in what has been dubbed the "parapolitics" scandal.

Mr Gomez's murder comes just days after the killing of Vicente Botero Arbelaez, who was also a witness in the case.

Prosecutors say five other witnesses are missing, while a sixth is part of a witness protection programme.

The government says many former AUC members now swell the ranks of the so-called Bacrin, short for criminal narcotics gangs.

Police suspect one of the Bacrins, Los Urabenos, of being behind the killing of Mr Gomez.

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Mexico reporter and family killed

21 June 2011 Last updated at 08:03 GMT Notiver called for a swift investigation to catch those behind the murders A Mexican journalist has been shot dead, along with his wife and 21-year-old son, by gunmen who burst into his home.

Miguel Angel Lopez Velasco, who wrote about politics and crime, was killed in his house in the port city of Veracruz.

Authorities have not yet determined a motive for the murders, which they condemned as a "cowardly" attack.

Rights groups rank Mexico as one of the most dangerous countries in the Americas for journalists.

Armed men broke into Mr Lopez Velasco's house in Veracruz early on Monday morning, killing him, his wife Agustina and his son, Misael.

Mr Lopez Velasco, 55, wrote for the daily newspaper Notiver, where he was also an editor. His columns focussed on crime, drug trafficking and political corruption.

In its coverage, Notiver called for a swift and transparent investigation to find those guilty of the three killings.

Those responsible "should be punished with the full weight of the law", the newspaper said.

In a statement on Monday, Mexico's National Commission on Human Rights said that, since 2000, 70 journalists had been killed and 13 were missing. There have also been 22 attacks on media organisations.

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