Authorities allegedly discovered a plot to assassinate the frontrunner in Colombia’s presidential election race, the leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda.
The alleged plot was revealed by President Gustavo Petro and confirmed by Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez nine months after the assassination of Senator Miguel Uribe, who sought to become Cepeda’s opponent on the far-right.
In a post on social media platform X, Petro said that US intelligence agency CIA “has real and concrete information of a possible attack against” the coalition senator.
“In Colombia, threats are being made everywhere, but information about actual plans must be neutralized in advance,” said the president.
Petro’s comments surprised Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez, who initially said that none of the Defense Ministry’s intelligence agencies had been informed of the threat.
Sanchez later suggested that intelligence agency DNI, which reports only to the president, provided the CIA with information about the alleged assassination plot.
Petro’s claim was denied by US Senator Bernie Moreno and his far-right allies in Colombia.
According to Moreno, far-right candidates Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia are the only ones who are being threatened in Colombia.
The US senator’s claim is based on alleged death threats made public by former President Alvaro Uribe last week. Local media have demonstrated that these alleged death threats were fabrications.
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