'Prudent' President flees assassination bid

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe abruptly cancelled his appearance at a hotel today and was rushed to a military base by helicopter amid reports that rebels planned to assassinate him.

Uribe, who survived a rebel assassination attempt in April during the election campaign, appeared unruffled following the latest purported plot in his hometown of Medellin.

“You must never lose your tranquility,” he said. “But you must be prudent, since no one is exempt from this nonsense.”

Defence Minister Martha Lucia Ramirez said the rebels had apparently planned to attack Uribe at his scheduled appearance at the Intercontinental Hotel in Medellin.

Word of the assassination plot came as Colombia’s security force blunted a rebel plan to unleash a wave of terrorist bombings in Bogota, the capital. Some car bombs even had remote-control systems that could have steered them without drivers into neighbourhoods to be blown up.

Police deactivated two car bombs in Bogota today, unravelling the rebels’ plan, said Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus, although he warned that other bombs may exist.