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Colombian Defense Minister Iván Velasquez assured on Thursday that security organizations had received “information” about an “attack” planned on July 20 against President Gustavo Petro.
“There is information about (…) an attack, the details of which I will not go into further,” the minister said at a press conference in response to questions about an alleged attack on the president’s security during a public event marking the day of national independence.
Petro arrived a few hours late for the event in Bogota that day.
Government official and close friend of Petro Gustavo Bolivar explained at the military anniversary event on Wednesday that the president’s late arrival was due to a “security alert that the country was unaware of.”
Bolivar referred to “a warning from the US embassy” warning against “analyzing possible dangers until the last minute,” although he said he did not know the “details” of what happened.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombia has not yet commented on the alert.
The defense secretary added: “On numerous occasions, information of a varying nature has been raised regarding possible action against the president.”
He went on to say that Colombian intelligence agencies responded to the threats “in a timely manner” and “took the necessary security measures” to protect the president.
Petro, a former senator and guerrilla fighter who fought the Colombian government before signing a peace deal in 1990, has repeatedly expressed fears for his and his family’s safety.
His Vice President, Francia Márquez, has also repeatedly denounced the plans against her life and that of her family. In 2019, before taking office, she was attacked with grenades and rifle bullets for her work as an environmental activist in the department of Cauca (southwest).
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