MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colombian President Duque unharmed as his helicopter is fired at

They do not intimidate us with violence or acts of terrorism, said Duque

The helicopter carrying Colombian President Iván Dique was fired on Friday. No casualties were reported.

Duque was travelling together with the ministers of interior and defence in the Santander area near the Venezuelan border when several shots were fired at the helicopter. Video footage of the incident went viral on social media.

According to the newspaper La Opinion, from Cúcuta, capital of Santander, said that, apparently, the presidential helicopter received three gunshots when it was flying there from the town of Sardinata, in the troubled region of Catatumbo.

Duque has described it as a “cowardly attack” from which he was unharmed like the other members of his entourage. “Both the aerial device and the aircraft's capacity prevented something lethal from happening. The truth is that it is a cowardly attack where bullet holes are seen in the presidential aircraft,” he explained.

IMPORTANTE

El helicóptero que transportaba al Presidente de Colombia, Iván Duque, ha sido tiroteado en una inspección de la frontera con Venezuela.pic.twitter.com/0O6xSSmlgp

— Descifrando la Guerra (@descifraguerra) June 25, 2021

Defense Minister Diego Molano Interior Minister Daniel Palacios as well as the governor of Santander, Silvano Serrano, were on board.

Duque went to Sardinata Friday to launch the “Peace with legality” program related to the implementation of the agreement signed in November 2016 with the FARC guerrillas.

Guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) are present in a Catatumbo, a region considered to be a stronghold of the Popular Liberation Army (EPL) -labelled by the Government as a criminal gang- and they are clashing with dissidents from the defunct FARC guerrillas and drug trafficking groups over territorial control.

“Once again we reiterate that as a government we are not going to falter for a single minute, a single day, in the fight against drug trafficking, terrorism and organized criminal organizations that operate in the country. Here they do not intimidate us with violence or acts of terrorism, our State is strong,” said Duque as he ordered the entire “security team to go after those who shot at the aircraft and put the lives of other people at risk.”