Colombian presidential favorite says gang planned to kill him in campaign

Gustavo Petro, the left’s favorite and poll leader for Colombia’s presidential elections, on Monday canceled events in the country’s coffee region due to a plot by a criminal organization to try to take his life, according to a statement. .

Petro, a former M-19 guerrilla and mayor of Bogotá, was due to travel to the region, including the city of Manizales, on Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the May 29 election.

But the visit was called off after Petro’s security team received information that the La Cordillera criminal group was planning an attack, according to a statement from his office.

“According to the work carried out by the security team, which received first-hand information from sources in the area, the criminal group La Cordillera planned to attempt the life of presidential candidate Gustavo Petro,” the statement said, without providing further evidence.

Campaign press officers confirmed the authenticity of the statement.

Colombia’s National Police said on Monday it had no information about a plot against Petro, adding that he had robust protective measures in place.

La Cordillera, which mainly operates in the coffee region, has been blamed by police for the death of a local organizer of anti-government marches that swept the country a year ago.

Petro led an opinion poll last week with 43.6% of the vote in the first round, while his closest rival, center-right Federico Gutierrez, recorded 26.7%.

Petro has drawn support in his pledges to correct the Andean country’s deep income inequality, including through a redistribution of pension savings. But investors have warned that the pension plan and its promise to halt new oil projects could jeopardize the country’s economic stability.

The 62-year-old candidate will face a divided Congress if he wins the presidency, with centrist and right-wing parties backing Gutierrez.