Colombian President's Motorcade Comes Under Fire From Unknown People

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - The office of Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Thursday that there was an armed attack on security detail vehicles that were supposed to join the president's motorcade.

"Intelligence units in the jurisdiction of El Tarra municipality reported preliminary information about an attack with long-range firearms on vehicles heading to the municipality to join the motorcade of the President of the Republic Gustavo Petro," the president's office said in a statement published on Twitter.

At least six people have set up an illegal checkpoint on the road connecting the departments of Santander and Norte de Santander, according to the statement. The group of security detail vehicles did not stop and came under fire. The criminals managed to detain two cars and one driver of the National Security Service, who was later released.

Petro confirmed and condemned the armed attack on his Twitter, adding that "the government will continue to insist that the time for peace has come".

Competent authorities are investigating the issue, the statement said.

According to UN data, violence has dramatically declined in Colombia since the signing of a 2016 peace deal between the authorities and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia militia group, which has been in conflict with government forces for a half-century. There are other non-state armed groups and criminal organizations, however, that remain involved in drug trafficking and other illegal activities.