Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Tuesday (local time) he narrowly escaped assassination while traveling by helicopter with his daughters, after months of claiming an alleged plot to target him, allegedly by drug traffickers, Al Jazeera reported.
Petro said in a video message that his helicopter was unable to land at a destination on Colombia’s Caribbean coast on Monday (local time) due to fears that unspecified people would “shoot”.
The call to assassinate Colombia’s president comes as the country reports a massive increase in violence ahead of presidential elections scheduled for May 31. Colombia has been plagued by years of conflict between guerrillas and other armed groups.
Changed plans because my safety was compromised, says Petro
In a report by the public radio station Radio Nacional de Colombia, Petro said: “Last night I could not land because I was informed that they were going to shoot at the helicopter I was traveling with my daughters.” He further added, “They didn’t even turn on the lights where I was supposed to land.”
He made these remarks at a meeting of the Council of Ministers in the Department of Cordoba. Located in the north of the country, it is a region where torrential rains and floods have resulted in a humanitarian emergency. At the meeting, the Colombian president said he was forced to drastically change his plans because of threats to his security.
“I’m trying to escape being killed. That’s why I couldn’t arrive on time last night because I couldn’t land where I said. This morning I also couldn’t land where I was supposed to because there was information that the helicopter was going to be shot at,” Petro said.
Colombia’s president said his helicopter diverted toward open waters for nearly four hours before landing at an alternate location, making several last-minute adjustments to its itinerary and flight path.
The public media reported that the head of state confirmed that such events keep her on constant alert. The head of state connected these events with some other events which, according to him, will take place from October 2025.
Petro previously reported on assassination attempts
In 2024, the Colombian president announced an assassination attempt. He also claimed to have been on the radar of a drug-trafficking cartel since taking office in August 2022.
According to AFP, authorities believe the suspected assassination plot may involve powerful drug traffickers and leaders of armed factions, including Iván Mordisco, who leads the largest group of ex-FARC rebels who rejected the 2016 peace deal and continued to operate outside the agreement.
Colombia has a history of political violence, with several leftist figures and presidential candidates killed over the years.
The candidate for the presidential election shot Turbay in June
In June 2025, presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot dead at a rally by a 15-year-old. The 39-year-old Colombian senator was hit by three bullets and had to undergo several surgeries before he died on August 11.