The vice president of Colombia, Francia Márquez, the first black woman to assume that position in the history of her country, denounced on Tuesday a plan to attempt on her life with an explosive device deactivated for her personal security.
Márquez confirmed on his Twitter account “the deactivation and destruction of a high-capacity explosive device” on the road that leads to his family residence in the southwest of the country.
“It was a new attempt to make an attempt on my life,” he added.
In 2019, Márquez was the target of an attack with grenades and rifle bursts for his work as an environmental activist in the department of Cauca, where he lives.
It was, he said, “a plastic bag whose interior contains a high-power explosive substance based on ammonium nitrate + powdered aluminum and nails.”
His security team discovered the device after being alerted about “suspicious persons” and “foreign elements” on the road that leads to the village of Yolombó, in the municipality of Suárez, where a visit from the vice president was scheduled.
Last August, a few days after assuming power, a vehicle belonging to the advance guard of President Gustavo Petro came under fire while traveling on a highway in the northeast of the country.
