Colombia state governor arrested on murder charges

BOGOTA - Colombian agents arrested the state governor of La Guajira on three charges of murder and conspiracy to commit crime, the attorney general's office said late Saturday.

Authorities have also linked Governor Juan Francisco "Kiko" Gomez to criminal gangs and right-wing paramilitary fighters in La Guajira, in northern Colombia on the border with Venezuela, deputy prosecutor Jorge Fernando Perdomo told reporters.

There is enough evidence to link Gomez to the 1997 murder of Barrancas Councilman Luis Lopez Peralta, as well as the 2000 deaths of Luis Alejandro Rodriguez and Rosa Mercedes Cabrera, Perdomo said.

"There were apparently some difficulties with the capture," Perdomo told reporters.

Local media reported that Gomez's bodyguards attempted to prevent the arrest.

However Gomez will not be moved immediately to Bogota.

"Apparently there are some health problems, so until these are resolved . . . he will not be transferred to Bogota," Perdomo said, giving no indication whether the problems were due to resisting the arrest.