Amidst Assassination Claims, Colombian President Gustavo Petro Faces Political Turmoil

A new episode has once again stirred the shadows of power in Colombia. On Tuesday, during an extended Cabinet meeting, Colombian President Gustavo Petro denounced two plots that initially drew little attention but would have halted the political agenda in almost any other country. As if downplaying it, Petro claimed that earlier this week, someone tried to kill him while he was traveling by helicopter. According to his account, the aircraft had to change course and fly over the ocean for four hours before it could land. He offered no details about the specific threat or those responsible. The second revelation had an even greater impact, given how unusual it was. The president said he had information about a conspiracy to plant psychoactive substances, specifically cocaine, in his car in order to undermine his meeting with former President Donald Trump, which took place last week at the White House. Hours later, an order was signed for the police general indirectly implicated in the operation to leave the force. This is not the first time Petro has alleged a plot against him. Since the beginning of his term, he has claimed multiple plans to assassinate him, destabilize his government, or sabotage his image. 'I can't trust anyone. Everyone betrays me,' he often says in private. That constant distrust—or, for his critics, paranoia—has roots in his guerrilla past marked by persecution and betrayal. In this case, as in previous ones, his accusations raise many questions, but he does not publicly substantiate them with evidence or conclusive investigations. The cumulative effect is a climate of constant suspicion that ultimately undermines the credibility of the president's allegations, as well as the intelligence agencies that are supposed to protect him. The pattern suggests the use of security apparatuses for political disputes. Many of those working in the upper levels of the state seek the president's attention by offering him this kind of information, which he can then use, warns a source familiar with these dynamics. EL PAÍS spoke with three intelligence sources from different ranks and sectors, and none of them has been able to clarify the episode. Nor is there agreement on where the information that reached the president originated. Two of the sources point to the National Intelligence Directorate (DNI), an agency that reports directly to the presidency and which Petro has placed in the hands of trusted allies, several of them former M19 comrades. This agency has been used to counterbalance his deep mistrust of military and police intelligence channels. General Edwin Urrego, who was removed from his position, has reinforced the theory that false information may have been provided to the DNI. 'Let them investigate who provided false information about me, including to the DNI,' he told EL TIEMPO. Another version points to sectors of military intelligence working in coordination with foreign agencies, where Donald Trump has targeted both Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro and later Petro as collaborators in drug trafficking networks. According to this account, the Army detected an attempt to link the president—or those around him—to drug trafficking amid tensions with Venezuela and US deployments in the Caribbean. The information reportedly reaches the CIA station in Colombia and is delivered directly to the president as material of a certain degree of credibility, as explained by one of the sources. Two of the sources agree that regardless of whatever evidence may exist, the noise escalated until it became a political weapon. Petro, they argue, often capitalizes on these kinds of alerts to create a bombshell and generate political impact. Indeed, Petro dropped a bombshell just when he was facing several domestic political challenges. Hours earlier, the Attorney General's Office had announced it would bring charges against Ricardo Roa, the head of the state oil company and former manager of Petro's 2022 presidential campaign, for allegedly exceeding campaign finance limits, a criminal offense in Colombia. The president sees the indictment as part of a broader conspiracy against him, which also includes the case against his son, Nicolás, who was accused in 2023 of illegally receiving campaign funds, as well as the trial of his former finance minister, Ricardo Bonilla, accused of allocating public funds to lawmakers in exchange for political support. Conflicting accounts among intelligence agencies are nothing new. Their members carry longstanding ideological tensions and disputes over methods. Those closest to Petro often accuse other sectors of plotting against him. From the military side, the response is that the others lack rigor and professionalism. The allegation about cocaine in the presidential vehicle has only widened those rifts. 'Anything in life is possible. The key is distinguishing what's probable,' says one source, skeptical of the plot Petro described. 'It's far-fetched. It should be scrutinized with great care,' the source adds, highlighting that the presidential security detail includes at least six identical high-end vehicles, making it extremely difficult to plant drugs without detection. The case escalated over the course of the day. Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez ordered military and police leadership to strengthen their intelligence and counterintelligence capabilities to neutralize any threat against the president. He also announced that the government would gather information regarding the allegations for an official review. 'The situation is very serious, whether it turns out to be true or false,' say official sources. General Edwin Urrego, indirectly implicated by the president without any public evidence, spent the morning defending himself. Once again, attention turned to Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, a controversial figure. 'Someone gave the order, certainly not us, to put psychoactive substances in my car,' Petro claimed during the Cabinet meeting. 'This has to do with you. They raided your house.' Benedetti accused the judge during the raid of acting out of personal bias. As accusations cascaded, the political conversation became increasingly heated. General Urrego visited radio stations, denouncing the misinformation he believes the president has received and labeled the allegation as madness. Benedetti, in turn, fired back on social media. Amidst all of this, by 9 PM, Petro seemed to shift focus, posting about healthier eating habits gaining traction in Colombia. Related Sources: • Source 1 • Source 2