Laura Gamba
11 February 2026•Update: 11 February 2026
BOGOTA, Colombia
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday that an assassination attempt against him was being planned, forcing him to reroute a helicopter flight he took on his way to the northern department of Cordoba.
Petro made the revelation during a cabinet meeting in Monteria, where he said that the threat materialized Monday night as he traveled by helicopter to that city to address a severe flooding emergency. He said intelligence reports warned that the aircraft would be shot down at its intended landing site—where the lights had pointedly not been turned on—prompting a mid-air diversion.
“I have to confess here that I was running away from being killed,” he said during the live broadcast, telling his cabinet that concerned for his safety and that of his children aboard the helicopter, he altered course and avoided his scheduled destination after his planned landing site was compromised.
“We headed out to open sea for four hours, and I arrived somewhere we weren’t supposed to go, escaping from being killed,” he added.
The accusation was made amid a spike in violence that is shaking up the election campaign three months before the presidential vote.
The president attributed the plot to a "new drug trafficking cartel" that he said has targeted him since his inauguration in August 2022. But the most immediate source of tension in Cordoba involves the Gulf Clan, the country's most powerful criminal organization.
The relationship between the government and the criminal group reached a breaking point last week, following Petro's high-profile meeting with US President Donald Trump.
During the summit, the two leaders agreed to a joint manhunt for the Gulf Clan's top leader, Jobanis de Jesus Avila Villadiego, alias “Chiquito Malo.”
In retaliation, the group suspended ongoing peace talks that had been held in Qatar, accusing the government of acting in bad faith.
This is not the first time Petro has reported such an attempt. In July 2024, a similar alleged plot prevented him from attending the traditional July 20 military parade.
While military and police authorities have not yet confirmed the specific details of Monday night's incident, the presidency has significantly tightened security protocols for the cabinet's stay in Monteria as they evaluate a potential decree of economic emergency for the region.
The northern part of Colombia is facing a severe climate crisis of atypical rainfall that has triggered a humanitarian emergency. At least 22 people have died and more than 120,000 have been displaced or affected as heavy floods and landslides devastate the departments of Cordoba, La Guajira, Sucre, Magdalena, Choco and Antioquia
