Petro Warns of Attack Against His Plane: “They Have Two Missiles Ready”

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, stated this Tuesday that drug traffickers are planning an attack to bring down his plane with missiles. Although he did not mention names, he assured that the perpetrators already have two missiles stored and ready to use.

“They want to shoot a missile at my plane, which was bought by drug traffickers and is stored somewhere. Not one, but two missiles. They want to take me down quickly because they know we are after the big mafias of Colombia,” said Petro during the inauguration of the new director of the National Police. He also stated that the government already knows who is behind this plan.

Previous threats against the president

This is not the first time the president has spoken about an assassination attempt against him. Since taking office in 2022, he has reported several threats.

Last September, he mentioned that the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned him about a possible attack involving a truck loaded with explosives to target him at a public event. At that time, the then U.S. ambassador to Colombia, Francisco Palmieri, confirmed that there was a “real concern” about an attack against Petro.

Violence in Colombia and the breakdown of talks with the ELN

Although he did not mention it directly, Petro also hinted that the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group is one of the “big mafias” in the country. In recent weeks, this group has been involved in violent clashes with another organization in Catatumbo, in northeastern Colombia. As a result, more than 100 people have been killed and over 80,000 have been displaced. Due to this, the president decided to suspend peace talks with the ELN, accusing them of committing “war crimes.”

Petro points to FARC dissidents

Petro also pointed to dissident groups of the former FARC guerrilla, particularly those led by alias Iván Mordisco, accusing them of planning to assassinate him with hired snipers. According to the president, these actions are allegedly being carried out with the support of Mexican mafias and smugglers.

However, Mordisco denied the accusations and demanded proof. “Present the evidence you claim to have (…). It is possible that someone wants to assassinate you, but not the FARC-EP,” he responded in a statement in October.

Doubts about Petro’s accusations

Additionally, on February 4, during a televised Cabinet meeting, Petro mentioned another threat that went almost unnoticed. He stated that there are people who have killed members of his government and are also planning to kill him.

According to him, new technologies are being used for these attacks. As an example, he mentioned that a drone was discovered flying at a low altitude at the Catam military base in Bogotá and that it accidentally crashed into an Avianca airline plane. “We already know it’s not a story,” he assured.

Despite these serious allegations, the opposition has questioned his statements, calling them exaggerated or false. So far, Petro has not presented any evidence to confirm his accusations, although the Ministry of Defense has been investigating the case since last year.