Right-Wing Death Threats Won’t Stop Gustavo Petro From Becoming Colombia’s Next President
Left-wing presidential candidate Gustavo Petro has been fighting Colombia’s far-right paramilitaries for decades. The revelation of a recent plot to murder Petro is unsurprising, but his campaign still appears strong ahead of Sunday’s election.
Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro speaks during a campaign rally on May 11, 2022, in Fusagasugá, Colombia. (Guillermo Legaria / Getty Images)
On May 6, the campaign of presidential candidate Gustavo Petro announced that it had uncovered a credible threat to the life of the left-wing politician. The attempted assassination would have taken place during his visit to Colombia’s coffee-growing region on May 3 and 4. The Petro team presented a detailed security briefing to the attorney general’s office that documented a plan by La Cordillera paramilitary organization to target the progressive candidate, who leads in all the polls for the presidential election due to be held on May 29.
La Cordillera is well known for its paramilitary activities in Colombia, which include drug trafficking and hired assassinations. There is also evidence linking La Cordillera to politicians, members of the police, the Colombian army, and the Judicial Investigation Police (SIJIN), as well as local businessmen close to former president and far-right political caudillo Álvaro Uribe Vélez.
The Paramilitary Nexus
Links between criminal organizations and public officials are unfortunately all too common in Colombia. The close relationship between the state, paramilitaries, and drug trafficking dates back to the 1980s, when the US-backed “war on drugs” began to intensify and the country saw escalating political violence.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.