Vice President of Colombia Speaks out After Attempted Terrorist Attack Against Her

On Tuesday, January 10, Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez Mina condemned another failed terrorist attack attempt against her after her security detail found explosives on a road nearby her home.

“It was a new attempt on my life,” Francia Márquez tweeted along with the photos of the explosives and the report from the authorities.

According to Márquez, her security detail located a device with more than seven kilos of explosives installed one meter from the road that leads directly to her private residence in Yolombó, Suárez, in the southwestern Colombian department of Cauca.

Colombia’s President Petro Meets President Maduro for 2nd Time in Miraflores (+ELN)

She also explained that the device has been detonated by agents of the Criminal Investigation Sectional Directorate of the Colombian National Police (SIJIN).

The attached report written by the intelligence and security personnel shows that, according to the characteristics and location of the device, it was an attempt on the vice president’s life. This is not the first attempted attack against Márquez; several other police reports have been filed during her first five months as vice president.

https://twitter.com/FranciaMarquezM/status/1612825242371514370

“However, we will not stop working, day after day, until we achieve the total peace that you dream of and need,” said Márquez. “We will not give up until, in each territory, it is possible to live in true harmony.”

Additionally, Márquez is the head of the recently created Ministry of Equality and Equity, which seeks to work towards guaranteeing basic needs such as public services, education and health in Colombia. According to official figures, 39% of the country’s population lives in poverty.

Márquez is the first leader of African descent to reach the vice presidency in Colombia, where defending the rights of a community can cost you your life. She has been the victim of racist insults and other attacks since she became vice president under President Gustavo Petro in early August.