They accuse FARC dissidents for attack on Duque's helicopter

They attack helicopter where Iván Duque was traveling 1:37

(CNN Spanish) -

The attorney general of Colombia, Francisco Barbosa, said on Thursday that behind the attack on the helicopter that transported President Iván Duque last month near the border with Venezuela "is the 33rd Front of the FARC dissidents. , whose leader is alias John Mechas ".

In a statement to the media, Barbosa affirmed that 10 members of this organization were captured in different parts of the country and that they have already been made available to a judge of guarantees.

Barbosa indicated that three of them are indicated to actively participate in the design and execution of the attack plan against the helicopter that was transporting Duque and also the one that the Army 30 brigade suffered on June 15, where the authorities reported 36 wounded .

• They reveal portraits of 2 alleged attackers of the helicopter that transported the president of Colombia, Iván Duque

Among those captured, the alleged main ideologue was identified as "alias El Capi", a retired Army captain who, according to the Defense Ministry, offered the plan for both attacks on the 33rd Front of the FARC dissidents.

He also said that firearms, cartridges, money and cell phones were seized, among others.

The Colombian presidential helicopter (left) on the runway of the Camilo Daza International Airport after being hit by gunfire in Cúcuta, Colombia, on June 25, 2021. (Credit: SCHNEYDER MENDOZA / AFP via Getty Images)

They denounce that the attack on Duque's helicopter was planned from Venezuela

For his part, Defense Minister Diego Molano pointed out that the attack "was planned from Venezuela," while expressing the commitment of the security forces to dismantle this dissident front.

Shortly after the announcement, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza, considered on Twitter that they "use" their country to try to hide internal problems such as violence, the presence of armed groups, assassinations of social leaders, among others.

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The Colombian government reported on June 26 that the helicopter carrying President Iván Duque was hit by rifle bursts in Cúcuta, Norte de Santander.

The Defense Minister then announced a reward of up to US $ 800,000 for information that would allow him to find those responsible for the attack.

The aircraft in which Duque, the Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, the Minister of the Interior, Daniel Palacios, the Governor of Norte de Santander, Silverio Serrano, and the Mayor of Cúcuta, Jairo Yáñez, among others, received six hits, reported General Ramsés Rueda, commander of the Colombian Air Force (FAC).

All people on board were unharmed.

Osmary Hernández contributed to this report

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