Colombia Vice President targeted by roadside bomb in 'assassination attempt'

Colombia Vice President Francia Márquez has revealed how her security team foiled an 'assassination attempt' after she was targeted by a roadside bomb.

Márquez said Tuesday that her security guards were alerted Monday of suspicious movements along a rural road near her home in the southwestern province of Cauca.

The South American country's first Black vice president added that a sniffer dog led agents to more than 15 pounds of explosives buried on the side of the road.

According to a police report shared by Márquez on her Twitter account, she had been scheduled to spend January 7 to 9 at her home in the Cauca municipality of Suarez. As part of her security team's protocol, the area was canvassed ahead of her arrival.

Colombian Vice President Francia Marquez revealed Tuesday that her security team found more than 15 pounds of explosives buried next to a rural road that leads to her home in the southwestern province of Cauca

A bomb squad unit agent holds a stick with the wiring that was connected to more than 15 pounds of explosives that were buried under a road as part of a failed plot to bomb the motorcade of Colombia's Vice President Francia Márquez

The bomb was composed of ammonium nitrate, powdered aluminum and shrapnel - and a bomb squad was able to safely detonate it in a controlled explosion. 

No arrests had been reported as of Wednesday by Colombian authorities.

Vice President Márquez, who in the past had received death threats, tweeted that the latest attempt would not deter the government's plan from seeking peace in Colombia.

'We will not stop working, day after day, until we reach the #TotalPeace that (Colombia) dreams of and needs,' she wrote. 'We will not give up until in each territory it is possible to live in true harmony.'

Márquez was elected in September, running alongside President Gustavo Petro, an economist and former guerrilla fighter, who is attempting to raise taxes on the wealthy, increase government spending and start peace talks with the nation's remaining rebel groups.

The bomb contained ammonium nitrate, powdered aluminum and shrapnel

Then Colombian President-elect Gustavo Petro (right) with his running mate, Francia Márquez (left) at a ceremony that certified their election victory. Márquez is Colombia's first Black vice president

Aerial view of Suarez, the hometown of Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez

Before entering politics, Márquez led protests against mining companies and illegal miners operating in Cauca and was forced to leave her Suarez home due to death threats. 

The environmental activist rose to fame last year when she participated in presidential primaries, and helped President Petro secure votes in the nation's Afro Colombian communities and among women and young people inspired by her life story. 

Márquez currently heads the Ministry of Equality, a new agency that seeks to ensure women and ethnic minorities have equal access to the government's social programs.