The left-wing candidate cancels a trip because of threats
Gustavo Petro, favorite for the next presidential election in Colombia, has given up on a trip for fear of an assassination attempt.
Gustavo Petro, during a press conference in Bogotá, April 5, 2022.
AFP
The left-wing opponent and favorite for the next presidential election in Colombia canceled a trip to the center of the country on Monday following receiving information regarding a possible assassination attempt during this visit.
Senator Gustavo Petro, 62, well ahead of the polls for the first round scheduled for May 29, was to go on Wednesday and Thursday, as part of his electoral campaign, in the coffee region of the center-west. His “security received first-hand information from several sources in the region that the criminal group La Cordillera was planning an attempted attack once morest the candidate,” the candidate’s campaign team said in a statement.
La Cordillera “is a paramilitary organization involved in drug trafficking and contract killings,” the statement said. Police have so far made no comment on the claims.
Gustavo Petro, a former far-left guerrilla who converted to social democracy, who was later mayor of Bogotá (2012-2015), has repeatedly expressed his concern for his safety since the start of the campaign.
Heavily protected, the one who is at the head of the left-wing coalition of the Historic Pact is leading an intense campaign on social networks as well as in the public square, with several rallies a day all over the country.
The polls give him a clear winner for the moment, even in the event of a second round on June 19. Gustavo Petro would thus become the first leftist president in a country historically ruled by the right today at the bottom of the wave.
Published today at 00:20
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