Gunfire struck a helicopter carrying Colombia’s president as it flew close to the Venezuela border. Along with the defense minister and interior minister and the governor of the province, President Ivan Duque flew towards Cucuta in the Norte de Santander region.

According to a spokesperson for the presidency, no one was hurt during the incident.

Mr Duque condemned the “cowardly attack” but said that he wasn’t afraid of “violence or terrorist acts”.

“Our state is strong and Colombia is strong to confront this kind of threat,” he said in a video address posted on Twitter.He stated that “our state is strong” and that Colombia is strong enough to face this type of threat in , a video address shared on Twitter. He added that security forces have been ordered to locate those responsible.

Local newspaper Semana reports the occupants heard a noise as if something had hit the engine just as the helicopter was coming in to land.| The helicopter came in to land just as local newspaper Semana reported .}

The Catatumbo region is home to the leftist National Liberation Army, (ELN), which spans the Colombian/Venezuelan border.

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The ELN was founded in 1964 in order to combat inequality in land and wealth distribution. It is Colombia’s largest rebel group, and is considered a terrorist organization by the US, Colombia and the European Union.

The ELN denies any involvement in the attack on a Cucuta military base with a car bomb earlier this month. The attack left 36 people injured, including two US military advisors.