Colombia's President, Gustavo Petro, asserted on Thursday that a powerful drug cartel plotted to assassinate him after being exposed by his government's investigations, a revelation he made public shortly after a telephone conversation with the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
In a message posted on the social network X, Petro stated that the threat came from what he referred to as "the Drug Trafficking Board," a criminal structure with international alliances and ties to foreign mafias, which had reportedly operated for years without being detected by Colombian intelligence agencies.
"They wanted to kill me for uncovering them," wrote the leader, who added that the person who was to carry out the assassination later died in Ecuador under violent circumstances.
According to the Colombian president's account, this group allegedly has connections to criminal organizations in Mexico and Albania, controls strategic routes for cocaine trafficking to Ecuador and various international ports, and employs sophisticated methods such as submarines, merchant ships, and networks of young people trained to dive and scale large vessels.
Petro also pointed out that part of the cocaine produced in Colombia was being transported by air to the Venezuelan state of Apure, while another portion was being moved from the Catatumbo region with the support of foreign partners.
In that criminal framework, he mentioned the involvement of the Gulf Clan and Iván Mordisco, one of the dissenting leaders of the FARC.
The statements come at a politically sensitive time. Hours earlier, Donald Trump had confirmed a phone conversation with Petro in which both addressed drug trafficking and other bilateral disagreements, and announced that an official meeting between both governments is being prepared at the White House, following days of diplomatic tension over the Venezuelan crisis and the public warnings issued from Washington.
"It was an honor to speak with the president of Colombia," Trump wrote, appreciating the tone of the exchange and expressing his interest in an in-person meeting "in the near future."
For his part, the Colombian described the conversation as "historic" and indicated that they would discuss "the Peace of the Continent, sovereignty, and a Pact for Life based on clean energy."
Petro's complaint was reinforced by messages shared on social media by activist Juan Poe, who posted a video clip mentioning former leaders of Colombian drug trafficking and alluding to investigations linked to U.S. agencies.
Although the Colombian president did not elaborate on this point, he did indicate that some of these criminal organizations operated from abroad and had prior legal agreements in the United States.
Filed under:
