Foreign Affairs

Colombian President Claims He Survived Assassination Attempt

Government of Colombia

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced he survived an assassination attempt while on board a helicopter Monday night, France 24 reported.

The Colombian president’s helicopter was unable to land along the country’s Caribbean coast due to fears that individuals “were going to shoot” at it, according to the outlet. In a live cabinet meeting, Petro said, “We headed out to open sea for four hours and I arrived somewhere we weren’t supposed to go, escaping from being killed.”

Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president, survived a previous assassination attempt in 2022. He has claimed that criminal organizations have attempted to kill him since he took office. In 2025, Petro claimed drug traffickers planned to fire missiles at his plane, according to Reuters.

“You know that they want to shoot a missile at my plane, which the drug traffickers bought and have stored,” Petro said at the time.

He also claimed in 2024 that the commander of a Colombian rebel group was “planning to have him assassinated by snipers,” according to Reuters.

Left-wing political leaders in the country have a history of assassination attempts against them dating back to 1948, when liberal Colombian politician Jorge Eliécer Gaitán was shot and killed.