Colombia’s Petro says drug traffickers want to kill him with missiles

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, center, flanked by military staff, attends a ceremony marking the 133rd anniversary of the Colombian National Police, in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (Fernando Vergara/AP)

BOGOTA - Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro on Tuesday said drug traffickers have acquired two missiles which they plan to fire at his plane, in order to kill him, citing the success of his efforts to tackle the drug trade.

“You know that they want to shoot a missile at my plane, which the drug traffickers bought and have stored. Not one, but two missiles,” Petro said - without presenting evidence - during the possession of the new director of Colombia’s national police, general Carlos Fernando Triana.

“We know who they are, but we have to act,” he added, without naming which group might behind such a plot.

Colombia’s security forces seized a record 883.8 metric tons of cocaine in 2024, according to the ministry of defense, up from 746.3 tons in 2023.

Cocaine production and trafficking, along with illegal gold production, are considered the main drivers of a six-decade armed conflict that has killed more than 450,000 people.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime AcostaWriting by Oliver Griffin)