Colombian President Ivan Duque survives a lethal attack on a presidential helicopter on Friday 25th June.
By Patrick Arinaitwe.
President Duque was flying through the country’s Cutatumbo region towards the city of Cucuta the capital of Norte de Santander province.
The helicopter was carrying the President Duque, and other officials including The Defence Minister Diego Molano, Interior Minister Daniel Palacios and Governor Norte de Santander Province Silvano Serano.
President Duque has said that , “it is a cowardly attack, where you can see bullet holes in the Presidential aircraft, the aircraft’s safety features prevented the lethal attack”.
” Once more, we as government we won’t give up in the fight against drug trafficking, terrorism and organized crime groups that operate in the country. They won’t intimidate us with violence or acts of terror , our state is strong and Colombia is strong to face such threats’ Duque added.
The President has given clear instructions to immediately find those behind the attack.
Photos released by the president’s office showed that the tail and the main blade had been hit and no one was injured in the attack, the President’s spokesperson said.
The defence Minister Diego Molano said the attack could have been carried out by the leftist National Liberation Army( ELN) rebels -former FARC fighters who rejected the 2016 Peace deal with the government along with the armed criminal groups involved in drug trafficking.
The ELN rebels have refuted the government’s allegations that they are the ones responsible for the attack.
The troubled Catatambo region is located on Colombia’s border with Venezuela and home to extensive plantations of Coca crop the chief ingredient of cocaine which has attracted many drug dealers, armed violent and rebel groups in the region that has since Duque’s come to power seen Colombia endure its worst outbreak of violence since the Peace deal of 2016 with FARC rebels.
By Patrick Arinaitwe.
Patrickarinaitwe122@gmail.com.
