The newly elected mayor of a town in Colombia’s Caqueta department is the brother of a local FARC boss, according to media reports.
Domingo Emilio Perez Cuellar, elected as San Vicente del Caguan, will have to co-exist with his brother Felix Perez Cuellar, alias “El Grillo,” the leader of the Marxist guerrillas in the same region.
Some believe that Perez won thanks to the support of his brother. According to a military source, “El Grillo” was transferred from Tolima to San Vicente in order to support his brother’s candidacy and garner influence in the region.
But Perez denied having had any contact with his brother – one of 12 siblings – during the past decade. In an interview with Colombian daily “El Tiempo”, the mayor-elect said “[My brother] is the guerrilla, not me.”
Perez denied any ties with the armed group, adding that having a brother involved with the FARC was actually prejudicial to his image.
“The town is tired of all this violence,” Perez said.
Perez will step into office on January 1st.
