Helicopter carrying Colombia's president attacked; all safe

Colombian President Iván Duque says the helicopter carrying him and several senior officials came under fire in the southern Catatumbo region bordering Venezuela, in a rare instance of a direct attack on a presidential aircraft

BUCARAMANGA, Colombia -- Colombian President Iván Duque said Friday that a helicopter carrying him and several senior officials came under fire in the southern Catatumbo region bordering Venezuela, in a rare instance of a direct attack on a presidential aircraft. Duque said everyone on board the helicopter was safe, including himself, Defense Minister Diego Molano, Interior Minister Daniel Palacios and the governor of Norte de Santander state, Silvano Serrano. They had just attended an event titled “Peace with Legality, the Sustainable Catatumbo chapter.” “I want to inform the country that after fulfilling a commitment in Sardinata, in Catatumbo approaching the city of Cúcuta, the presidential helicopter was the victim of an attack,” the president said in a statement. He said the helicopter’s equipment and capabilities “prevented something lethal from happening.” A video released by the presidency showed several bullet holes in the Colombian air force helicopter.