Colombian senator murdered

Women politicians are not spared by the violence

A member of the upper house of the Colombian parliament has been found shot dead, along with a colleague and her driver outside the capital, Bogota.

The bodies of Senator Martha Catalina Daniels and the two others were found with gunshot wounds to the head late on Saturday near the town of Zipacon, 60 kilometres north of the capital.

Martha Catalina Daniels was a member of the opposition Liberal Party, but was not due to stand for re-election at national polls next weekend.

No motive for the killings has yet been established.

However, the woman travelling with the senator, Ana Maria Medina, was reportedly the wife of a politician being held hostage by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The three had set out from the senator's home in Bogota at 0500 on Saturday, apparently on a humanitarian mission.

Daniels had served 12 years as a member of the Colombian parliament, or Congress.

She is believed to be the seventh member of Congress to be killed in four years. Another five members are reportedly being held hostage by FARC.

They include Senator Ingrid Betancourt, who disappeared on 20 February on her way to the former FARC safe haven haven in southern Colombia.

The area - which the rebels had held for about three years - was seized by government troops last month following the collapse of peace talks.