Colombian president says he escaped assassination attempt

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that he had narrowly escaped an assassination attempt hours earlier, following months of warnings about an alleged plot by drug traffickers to kill him.

According to Petro, his helicopter was unable to land at its intended destination on the Caribbean coast on the night of February 9 due to fears that unidentified individuals “were going to shoot” at the aircraft, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

“We headed out to open sea for four hours and I arrived somewhere we weren't supposed to go, escaping from being killed,” Petro said during a cabinet meeting that was broadcast live.

#ATENCIÓN 🇨🇴🚨| El pdte @petrogustavo denuncia un nuevo intento de atentado en su contra. "Anoche no pude aterrizar porque me informaron que al helicóptero donde venía con mis hijas le iban a disparar. Ni siquiera prendieron luces donde debía aterrizar", declaró. 🇨🇴🚨 | pic.twitter.com/cMkPUhIzWq

— Radio Nacional CO (@RadNalCo) February 10, 2026

The president’s remarks come amid a resurgence of violence in Colombia, just months ahead of presidential elections, in a country long scarred by decades of conflict involving guerrilla factions and other armed groups.

Petro, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term, has repeatedly claimed that a drug-trafficking cabal has been plotting to assassinate him since he took office in August 2022. He alleges that the conspiracy involves prominent narco figures and warlords, including Iván Mordisco, the leader of the largest faction of dissidents who split from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) after the group signed a 2016 peace agreement and agreed to disarm.

Colombia has witnessed the assassination of numerous leftist leaders and presidential candidates over the years. Petro, the country’s first leftist president, previously reported another alleged attempt on his life in 2024.

By Vafa Guliyeva