Colombia’s president was target of a possible attack in July, says defense minister

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian President Gustavo Petro was the target of a possible attack in July, when he took part in a public event in downtown Bogotá, Defense Minister Iván Velásquez said Thursday, without providing evidence or elaborating further.

“There was information about that… an attack,” Velásquez said, but declined to provide additional details when pressed by reporters.

Petro participated in the traditional military parade on July 20 to commemorate the 214th anniversary of Colombia’s independence from Spain, after arriving several hours late to the event.

Petro said at the time that his tardiness was due to “information that had to be corroborated with the United States embassy, and a lack of coordination among my security detail.”

On Wednesday, Gustavo Bolívar, one of Petro’s closest allies in his cabinet, insisted to the press that the president arrived late on July 20 because there were “security concerns” and a warning from the U.S. embassy.

Petro, a former rebel and the first leftist president in the country’s history, has received threats through social media since he took office in 2022, as he himself reported to the prosecutor’s office. He also received threats during the 2022 election campaign, so it was common to see him surrounded by bodyguards and soldiers when he delivered speeches in public squares.

The minister of defense said this was not the first time his office has received information about a possible attack on the president, adding there is constant intelligence activity in an effort to “protect the president’s integrity.”

Petro has promoted a plan for “total peace” that includes negotiating with some of the most powerful armed groups in the country — from leftist guerrillas to smaller trafficking mafias — in an effort to get them to demobilize simultaneously.

But violence continues to be a concern in the Andean country despite the peace talks that the government is holding with armed groups including the National Liberation Army guerrilla group and factions of the FARC dissidents who did not adhere to the 2016 peace agreement.

These armed groups are fighting for territorial control of strategic corridors for drug trafficking and illegal mining. ___

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america