A helicopter in which the president of Colombia, Iván Duque, and his interior and defense ministers was traveling, was shot at in the department of Norte de Santander, on the border with Venezuela, but the president and other occupants of the aircraft were unharmed. , confirmed the same Duke this Friday.
“Both the aerial device, both the capacity of the aircraft prevented something lethal from happening. The truth is that it is a cowardly attack where bullet holes are seen on the presidential aircraft,” he told reporters.
The attack on the presidential helicopter was recorded when the US-made UH-60 Black Hawk aircraft was heading to the city of Cúcuta after the president attended a government act in the municipality of Sardinata, in the department of Norte de Santander.
Duque, a 44-year-old economics lawyer, did not hold any organization responsible for the attack.
But in the region where the attack took place, there are extensive cultivations of coca leaf, the raw material for cocaine, and there are dissident FARC members who have left a peace agreement, the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN ) and criminal gangs dedicated to drug trafficking.
Duque reiterated that his government will not falter in the fight against drug trafficking or against illegal armed groups involved in the production of cocaine.
“Here they do not intimidate us with violence, here they do not intimidate us with acts of terrorism. Our state is strong and Colombia is strong to face these threats,” said Duque, who instructed his security team to go against whoever attacked the helicopter.
There is a padlock operation in the Camilo Daza neighborhood, from where the criminals would have fired, reported the newspaper El Tiempo .
In photographs and in a video released by the Presidency it was evidenced that the helicopter received several bullet holes in its fuselage.
A car bomb exploded at a military base in the city of Cúcuta last week, injuring 36 people, including two US soldiers who were advising the Colombian Army in the fight against drug trafficking.
Although the Defense Minister, Diego Molano, accused the ELN guerrilla of this attack, the rebel group denied responsibility for the incident.
Drug trafficking is considered the fuel that fuels the internal armed conflict of more than five decades that has left more than 260,000 dead and millions displaced, according to the government.
Colombia, with a strategic position because it is surrounded by two oceans, is considered one of the world’s largest producers of cocaine, an activity in which drug trafficking groups, criminal gangs made up of former far-right paramilitaries and the ELN guerrillas, in addition to FARC dissidents.
With information from EFE and Reuters
