Colombia, alert for possible attack on the president

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After statements about a possible attempt to assassinate President Iván Duque, two suspects were arrested for carrying weapons

On December 30, three individuals who appeared to be involved in an alleged attack against Colombian President Iván Duque on a bus that went from Valledupar to Barranquilla, were arrested. The third one, was arrested in the city of Barranquilla.

Leer en español: Colombia, en alerta por posible atentado al presidente

According to La Fm, for three months information had been reported about a possible attack against the president of the Republic of Colombia. The website reported that "these captured may have links with the government of Nicolás Maduro and organized armed groups of Colombia," according to intelligence reports. However, this investigation had not been confirmed until today, with statements by Defense Minister Guillermo Botero.

Who are the suspects?

José Vicente Gómez Ríos and Pedro José Acosta Ovalles. Both are Venezuelan and were pretending to be passengers on the bus that covered the Valledupar-Barranquilla route. The first is from San Felipe State of Yaracu, and the second from Ojeda.

According to El Espectador, both were captured when the bus was stopped for police control. The officers who did the control, found in the trunk of the bus a suitcase in which were camouflaged two rifles of 5.56 brand tactical machining.

According to El Tiempo, a third party, also a Venezuelan citizen, was captured in the city of Barranquilla with a grenade and a submachine gun.

A judge from Cesar sent the first two to jail, who will be subject to investigation for being suspected of being involved in an alleged attack plan against President Iván Duque.

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The declarations

The Foreign Minister warned on December 29, via twitter, about the existence of a plan to attempt against President Iván Duque.

In the Foreign Ministry statement, Holmes Trujillo speaks of "credible threats" against the president by internal and external actors.

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The Minister of Defense, Guillermo Botero, gave a statement from the city of Armenia, Quindío, on the alert given by the Foreign Ministry. In the statements, Minister Botero affirms that he is satisfied with the work of the National Police and the Military Forces. He also clarified that the investigation is being done in a reserved manner so as not to sabotage it and that the president's security corps has been improved and strengthened and that he does not really feel worried about this aspect.

What does seem worrisome, according to the newspaper El Espectador, is that the weapons seized are of high caliber . The minister affirms that the fact of being weapons of high precision makes more credible and real, the possibility of a threat against the president: "with weapons of high precision what may be happening is that they are thinking of making an attack against some person, among them the president of the Republic ". He also affirmed that there has been no dialogue with anyone from the Venezuelan government and that the "good Venezuelans" should not be confused with those who are criminals with "dark purposes".

For his part, the Foreign Minister of the country of Venezuela offered his police support for the investigation.

It should be noted that it is not yet confirmed that the presence of these three detained citizens is related to a plan to attack the president, therefore, the investigation must continue.

LatinAmerican Post | Juliana Rodríguez Pabón

Translated from "Colombia, en alerta por posible atentado a Iván Duque