Published on: Aug 22, 2025 05:42 am IST
As per Petro, the helicopter was transporting police personnel to Antioquia, in northern Colombia, to eradicate coca leaf crops, the raw material for cocaine.
A police helicopter was attacked in Colombia on Thursday. The attack, which was captured on camera, has killed at least eight officers and injured eight others, as per President Gustavo Petro.
Taking to X, the Colombian president attributed the attack to the dissidents of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
As per Petro, the helicopter was transporting police personnel to Antioquia, in northern Colombia, to eradicate coca leaf crops, the raw material for cocaine.
The helicopter was targeted and hit by a drone as it flew over the coca leaf crops. As per Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez, the preliminary investigation stated that the attack on the chopper caused a fire in the aircraft.
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Authorities did not immediately provide details of the conditions of the eight people who were injured in the attack.
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The videos circulating on social media show the exact moment the helicopter crashed due to a drone strike by FARC dissidents.
Following the attack, plumes of thick smoke are in the air. After the attack, initial reports claimed that six officers had been killed and seven injured. However, the president later confirmed that the death toll had increased to eight.
Ahead of FARC, Petro initially blamed the Gulf Clan for the attack. The Gulf Clan is the Colombia’s largest active drug cartel.
As per the president, the police chopper was targeted as a retaliation for a cocaine seizure that allegedly belonged to the group.
Both FARC dissidents and members of the Gulf Clan operate in Antioquia.
Coca leaf cultivation is on the rise in Colombia. As per a report available from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the area under cultivation reached a record 253,000 hectares in 2023.
(With inputs from AP)
