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• Francia Márquez clarified that she was not among the occupants of the armored truck that was hit by bullets | Main photo: EFE/Carlos Ortega

Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez said in a statement that her security team was attacked with rifle fire while traveling in the district of Timba (Cauca department).

“I have been informed by my security and protection team that the main vehicle of the vice-presidential caravan, in which I normally travel, was hit by a projectile, apparently from a rifle (just before entering the district of Timba, Cauca), without causing any injuries to the occupants,” said the official in a statement. statement de press released on July 10.

Márquez clarified that at the time of the attack she was not in the armored truck that was hit by the bullets, but rather she was at an event in the city of Cali (capital of Valle del Cauca) attending to a commitment on her agenda as vice president.

He also assured that there were no fatalities in the incident but expressed concern regarding the insecurity that this region of Colombia has been experiencing, since in both Cauca and Valle del Cauca at least 17 terrorist attacks and attacks by dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been reported, according to figures collected by Time until May 20th.

“We went to Suárez to bring the public university and we will not give up in this effort for the future of our people. I want to insistently ask the armed groups to silence their guns, to allow Cauca to live in peace,” he added.

This is the second attack on Francia Márquez’s circle of friends in less than a month, since it was recently revealed that the Colombian vice president’s father was also the victim of an attack.

Assassination attempt on Francia Márquez’s father

Sigifredo Márquez Trujillo, father of Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez, suffered an attack on June 16 this year while traveling between the Colombian departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca.

Authorities said that four armed men with two motorcycles intercepted the caravan in which Sigifredo was traveling with one of his grandsons, aged 6, who is also the vice president’s nephew.

According to official information, the suspects signaled the car they were traveling in to stop, to which the driver reacted by accelerating and the motorcyclists responded by shooting. Sigifredo and his grandson escaped unharmed, because the four shots were fired by the armored vehicle they were traveling in.

The commander of the Colombian Police Precinct Number 4, Jorge Urquijo, said that the security agency is offering up to 100 million Colombian pesos (around 25 thousand dollars) to anyone who provides information regarding those responsible for the attack.

The situation of insecurity in Cauca and Valle del Cauca

Colombian security forces have had to deal with an escalation of violence in the departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca. In several municipalities in these regions, authorities have reported the presence of FARC dissidents, led by alias Iván Mordisco.

On June 7, police confirmed an attack with explosives on the police station in Popayán (capital of the Cauca department). According to information from the authorities, the explosives were thrown from a cargo truck towards the police station facilities.

This attack left two uniformed officers slightly injured and an operation was launched to locate those responsible for this attack.

Similarly, Colombian authorities confirmed on June 25 the Death of a Venezuelan, identified as Rafael Gonzálezwho was a vehicle guard. The victim was injured on June 12 by the explosion of a motorcycle bomb in the municipality of Jamundí, in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia.

The victim had arrived in Colombia nine years ago and earned his living with the money people gave him for watching motorcycles in a banking area.

“Don Rafael’s death has brought mourning to the region and the entire country. He came here in search of hope, in search of survival, and here he found death,” said Gerardo Mendoza Castrillón, a public servant from Cali.

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