Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced that he miraculously survived an assassination attempt while traveling by helicopter in Colombia’s Caribbean region last Monday night.
Petro, speaking at a cabinet meeting broadcast live, said the presidential helicopter was unable to land at its intended destination in Cordoba province because it received security information that “an unspecified number of people were trying to fire at the plane.”
Escape to the sea for 4 hours
He added that the crew had to head out to sea for about four hours before landing in another safe location, describing the incident as a “near-death escape.”
The president has suggested that the attack came after months of repeated warnings about a plot to assassinate him, but Colombian authorities have repeatedly said the plot was instigated by drug cartels and armed groups opposed to the comprehensive peace policy and attempts to negotiate with some armed groups.
repeated attempts to assassinate him
Gustavo Petro (born 1960) is considered the first leftist president in Colombia’s modern history. He assumed power in August 2022. Since taking office, he has faced overt and covert threats, and it was previously announced that there were plots to assassinate him linked to drug traffickers and armed groups opposed to his peace and agrarian and economic reform policies.
In October 2024, while attending the COP16 conference in the city of Cali, the president spoke about intelligence indicating an attempt to deploy a surface-to-air missile (SAM-16) targeting his aircraft in Colombia, forcing him to change his method of arriving in the city.
continued armed threat
Despite a 2016 peace agreement with the FARC, Colombia still suffers from an active armed group and drug cartel presence, and has seen a recent escalation in political and electoral violence, especially as the date for the next presidential election approaches.
Colombian security authorities have not yet issued an official statement confirming or denying the existence of an actual shooting attempt on the helicopter, but confirmed that security measures were activated based on critical intelligence information.
The president called for intensified investigations to uncover those involved, warning that “Colombian democracy still faces real danger.”
