Colombian President Gustavo Petro has once again raised alarms about attempts to assassinate him, accusing far-right groups both in Colombia and the United States of orchestrating deadly plots.

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Petro’s warnings come amid a tense political climate in Colombia, where the president has faced continuous opposition from powerful drug trafficking networks and extreme right-wing factions since taking office in 2022.

On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Petro wrote, “Far-right allies have tried to kill me about 17 times during my government. Their posts only express hatred and their wish to see me dead.” These posts, known locally as “trinos,” often convey intense political hostility.

The most recent alarm was raised after authorities found an anti-tank rocket near the presidential palace, Casa de Nariño, in Bogotá. Although officials claimed the weapon was obsolete and had been discarded by a civilian, Petro rejected this explanation. “I don’t know what the anti-tank weapons were meant for, and I don’t trust the police version,” he stated. He also condemned members of the National Police for allegedly hiding the discovery, calling it “perhaps more serious than the weapon itself.”

Petro warned that “several meetings are being held to coordinate attacks” against him. He stressed, “Within the mafia-linked far right, the order has been given. My protection comes from the people.” Additionally, the president announced plans to reveal the identities of those behind these conspiracies.

This is not the first time Petro has spoken out about threats to his life. Since assuming office, he has repeatedly denounced assassination attempts linked to far-right groups and transnational drug trafficking mafias.

He accused an international far-right alliance of “Colombian Nazis and North American Nazis” as responsible for ongoing plots against him.

Petro also criticized Guatemala’s Public Ministry after it issued arrest warrants against Colombia’s Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo and former Defense Minister Iván Velásquez. He described the move as part of a “plot by the Guatemalan far right: Nazi, genocidal, deeply involved in narcotrafficking, with the help of Colombian stateless Nazis.” Both officials face Interpol red notices on charges such as obstruction of justice, although Guatemala has rejected the legal basis of these accusations.

The president recalled that in 2024, the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá warned him of a plot to assassinate him on Colombia’s Independence Day, July 20. Later that year, during the COP16 biodiversity summit in Cali, he avoided detection after two surface-to-air missiles (SAM-16) were smuggled into the country as part of a planned attack.

Petro blames these assassination attempts on a transnational criminal organization he calls the “narcotrafficking board,” allegedly based in Abu Dhabi and composed of mafiosos from multiple countries. According to him, this group controls prosecutors, the National Police, and the port of Buenaventura through Colombia’s Attorney General’s Technical Investigation Corps.

He also accused this group of orchestrating the 2022 murder of Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo Pecci in Cartagena, asserting that Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office covered up the crime.

Since taking office, Petro has consistently highlighted the volatile political climate in Colombia and the ongoing threats to his life, underscoring the deep challenges the country faces amid its struggle against corruption and organized crime.

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