Leftist front-runner in Colombia's presidential election Gustavo Petro cancelled events in the country's coffee region today because of what his office called a plot by a crime gang to attempt to take his life.
Colombian presidential candidate for the Colombia Humana political party and Historic Pact Coalition, Gustavo Petro. Photo: AFP
Petro, a former M-19 guerrilla and mayor of Bogota, was scheduled to travel to the region, including the city of Manizales, tomorrow and Thursday, ahead of the scheduled vote on 30 May.
But the visit has been called off after Petro's security team got information the La Cordillera crime gang was planning an attack, his office said in a statement.
"According to work carried out by the security team, which received first-hand information from sources in the area, the criminal group La Cordillera was planning to make an attempt on the life of presidential candidate Gustavo Petro," said the statement, without providing further evidence. Campaign press officers confirmed the authenticity of the statement.
Colombia's National Police said later that it had no information regarding a plot against Petro, adding that he had robust protection measures.
La Cordillera, which operates largely in the coffee region, has been blamed by police for the death of a local organiser of anti-government marches which swept the country a year ago.
Petro led an opinion poll last week with 43.6 percent of prospective first-round votes, while his closest rival, the centre-right Federico Gutierrez, tallied 26.7 percent.
Petro has attracted support on his promises to address profound income inequality in the Andean country, including via a redistribution of pension savings. But investors have warned the pension plan and his pledge to halt new oil projects could put the country's economic stability at risk.
The 62-year-old will face a divided congress if he wins the presidency, with centrist and right-leaning parties largely throwing their support behind Gutierrez.
-Reuters