Left-wing rebels from Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) have denied planning to kill Francisco Barbosa, the country’s attorney general.
According to the attorney general’s office, “three sources” provided information that “indicated that there would be a terrorist attack” intended for Mr. Barbosa.
Days after an ELN-government truce went into effect, word of the suspected conspiracy surfaced.
Since 1964, the ELN has been operational.
The attorney general’s office claimed that the military’s intelligence division, a police department that deals with organised crime and has its own investigative branch, had forewarned it.
It stated that all three told it about a meeting they claimed “five high-ranking ELN members” had last month in neighbouring Venezuela.
According to the claims, a person going by the name “Rolo” was in charge of ELN fighters who were being prepared to shoot Attorney General Barbosa with a sniper rifle.
Additionally, accounts associated with “Rolo” allegedly had “suspicious transactions” worth up to $750,000 (£588,000).
However, one ELN faction involved in peace talks with the government regarded the assertion to be “false” and rejected it. Additionally, the attorney general was accused of “trying to sabotage the peace process”.
Colombia’s attorney general for the past three and a half years is Mr. Barbosa, 49.
He has criticised President Gustavo Petro’s “total peace” proposal and the negotiations with armed groups, claiming that any agreements would make it more difficult for his office to arrest persons accused of committing major crimes.
Additionally, he has plans to offer criminal gang members shorter prison terms in exchange for their disbandment.
The main guerrilla organisation still operating in Colombia is the ELN. It has been at war with the state since 1964, and prior efforts to negotiate a peace agreement with it have been unsuccessful.
However, a bilateral six-month ceasefire between the government and the ELN went into effect on August 3. The following round of peace talks is scheduled to take place in Venezuela on August 14.