The Colombian counter intelligence has saved the life of the country’s leader after tipping him off a plan to eliminate him.
President Gustavo Petro has stated that the helicopter he was in was forced to change its route due to an assassination attempt being prepared against him.
“I didn’t land where I was supposed to because there were fears that the helicopter, in which my children were also located, would be fired upon,” he said at a government meeting broadcast on the presidential administration’s YouTube channel.
President Gustavo who has strained relations with the USA administration travelled to Washington to meet his counterpart Donald Trump. The actual head-to-head was scheduled on Tuesday February 3rd.
Gustavo and other members of his delegation had to be issued temporary visas just for the diplomatic visit, as Trump had previously cancelled his visa in September.
Assassination attempts against Colombian leaders is a common thing.
For example in 2021, a helicopter carrying Colombia’s former President Ivan Duque and others was struck by multiple bullets in an attack.
According to the Bogotapost, violent deaths are prevalent in the country attributed to often the extreme outcome of robberies gone wrong, gang feuds, political violence, domestic violence, fights, targeted killings, drugging of victims and bungled kidnappings.
Statistics of the Capital Bogota indicate that with a population of around 8 million – a homicide rate of 14.8 deaths per 100,000 of the population.
Colombia, and its capital, are flooded with illegal firearms, many of them from the estimated 600,000 guns smuggled south across the border from the U.S. each year. Just in the first four months of 2025, police confiscated 8,466 illegal weapons across the country.
