BOGOTÁ (Realist English). Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday that he escaped what he described as an assassination attempt while flying with his daughters in a helicopter, forcing two aborted landing attempts after receiving intelligence warning that the aircraft could be shot at.
Petro told reporters he was unable to land near the Caribbean coast on Monday because officials learned that “they were going to shoot at the helicopter I was travelling in with my daughters.”
The president said the planned landing site was left unlit and that security forces altered the flight path, flying over open water for several hours until the helicopter reached an alternate landing point with support from the Colombian navy.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting in the northern department of Córdoba, where heavy rains and flooding have caused a humanitarian emergency, Petro said he had been forced to change travel plans “to try to escape being killed.”
Petro has repeatedly accused drug trafficking groups of plotting against him since he took office in August 2022. This latest incident came amid a broader surge in violence ahead of presidential elections, which he is constitutionally barred from contesting.
The announcement coincided with the reported temporary kidnapping of Aída Quilcué, a congresswoman and Indigenous rights activist, in the conflict-ridden Cauca region. Government forces later confirmed she and her bodyguards were released safely, officials said.
The twin security incidents highlighted growing instability in Colombia as election season nears, particularly in regions where armed groups, organised crime and dissident guerrillas remain active.