Hernández, of the League of Anti-Corruption Rulers, is in a technical tie in the polls along with Petro in the runoff to succeed the president Ivan Duke from August.
“I am certain that my life is at risk,” Hernández was quoted as saying in a statement from his campaign, which specified that “The politician made the decision to cancel all public appearances from today until June 19“, the day of the ballot.
A police spokesman said the agency has no information about the threats and is investigating.
In his turn, Duque said that the candidates have government security guarantees.
“We do not know this reference in detail but what we can say is that the candidates have all the protection and all the guarantees by the Colombian State for their safetyDuke told reporters.
But later in the evening Rodolfo Hernández, who was campaigning among Colombians residing in Miami, said the government guaranteed his safety.
“The Minister (of the Interior) Daniel Palacios and the National Government are providing me with all the security to return to Colombia,” Hernández wrote on his Twitter account. “Saturday I will be with all of you again.”
It was unclear if Hernández would appear in person at a rally in Bogotá on Saturday. His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In May, Gustavo Petro canceled events in a coffee-growing region in the center of the country after his office in the Senate warned of a plot by a criminal gang to assassinate him.
Hernández, 77, described Petro and his campaign as a “criminal gang” amid the bickering between the two candidates.
Petro responded on Twitter: “You show me a single crime of mine, if you do it I renounce my campaign and you win.”
The former mayor of Bucaramanga, who amassed a fortune in the construction industry, gained popularity for his appearances on the TikToK network and anti-corruption proposals.
However, the politician is being investigated for allegedly intervening in a bid for a garbage collection contract while he was mayor to benefit a company for which his son had lobbied, accusations that he denies.
Source: Ambito
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