The opposition Social Democrat candidate, who is considered the dominant candidate in this month’s presidential election in Colombia, canceled his pre-election appearance in the central Andean country on Monday, because his team received information about an attempted assassination attempt on this trip.
Senator Gustavo Petro, 62, ahead of the May 29 first round poll, was due to make an appearance tomorrow, Wednesday, and the day after Thursday, as part of his campaign in the center-west, known for coffee production.
However, “his security received first-hand information from several sources, according to which the criminal organization ‘La Cordillera’ was preparing an assassination attempt on the candidate”, said a press release of the group that is conducting Mr. Petros’ election campaign.
The Cordillera is a “paramilitary organization” that is “involved in drug trafficking” and commits “murder” for a fee, the statement said.
According to Mr. Petros’s team, which cited “highly credible sources”, a police officer was involved in the group working on the “criminal plan”. The candidate’s environment explained that for precautionary reasons, it was decided to postpone the appearances in the specific area.
Colombian police said they could not confirm or deny the allegations. She said she had not received “information that would allow her to conclude that there was a plot to assassinate him” by the senator and presidential candidate.
For its part, the prosecutor’s office stated that it “verifies” the announcement of Gustavo Petro’s team about the “alleged threat of the criminal organization ‘La Cordillera'”.
Mr. Petros, a former rebel of the far-left Movement of April 19 (Movimiento 19 de Abril, M-19) who became a Social Democrat, former mayor of the capital (2012-2015), has repeatedly expressed his opposition to the start of the election campaign. his safety.
“Before I rule, they will try to stop me. Either they destroy me morally or they exterminate me,” he said in a recent interview.
Strictly guarded, the candidate of the Colombian Left Historical Alliance (Pacto Histórico por Colombia, PHxC) is waging an intensive online campaign and campaigning almost daily across the country.
A poll published last week wants Mr Petros to win by a wide margin (with 43.6% of the vote-ready vote in the first round, compared to 26.7% for his nearest right-wing rival Federico Gutierrez) or in the first round. or in the second, if necessary. If that happens, he will be the first president of the left in a country that has seen only right-wing governments in its modern history.
SOURCE: AMPE
Source: Capital
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