Cúcuta mayoral hopeful Miguel Armando Castellanos shot dead in Colombia

Miguel Armando Castellanos Serrano, a former government secretary of Cúcuta and prospective candidate for the city’s 2027 mayoral election, was killed in a shooting on Monday, October 26, near a gas station on the Anillo Vial Occidental in the El Pórtico area of Norte de Santander, Colombia.

Local officials said Castellanos was traveling in an armored pickup with his son when a motorcycle approached or struck the vehicle. He reportedly got out to speak with the rider and was then shot at close range; early reports said he suffered a head wound.

Norte de Santander’s security secretary, George Quintero, confirmed the killing and said the preliminary account was that a person approached Castellanos’s vehicle before the attack. Police and specialized investigative units cordoned off the scene and opened an inquiry, which authorities are treating as a possible targeted assassination.

Castellanos was a retired National Police major and had served as Cúcuta’s secretary of government before resigning early in 2026 to pursue a mayoral candidacy in the October 2027 regional elections. He was also the brother of former senator Jairo Castellanos and Bogotá councilman and former footballer Leandro Castellanos.

No arrests or confirmed motive had been announced in the immediate aftermath. The Norte de Santander government offered a reward for information leading to those responsible, while the Metropolitan Police of Cúcuta led the investigation and search operations.

The killing has drawn concern because Castellanos was preparing to enter electoral politics in a border city already affected by armed-group activity; officials said they were awaiting the formal police report before establishing the circumstances and motive.