Colombia Highway Bombing Kills 19 Ahead of Presidential Election

goodinfo.net — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 06:30:00 +0800

Highway Bombing Kills 19 in Colombia’s Cauca Department

A devastating highway bomb attack on the Pan-American Highway in southwestern Colombia’s Cauca department killed 19 people and injured at least 38 on April 26, marking the latest escalation in violence ahead of the country’s May 31 presidential election.

According to AFP, the blast occurred on Saturday, leaving buses and vans mangled and flipping several cars. The force of the explosion carved a large crater into the roadway.

While the department’s governor initially reported a death toll of 14 on Saturday evening, Colombia’s National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences confirmed on Sunday morning that it had begun examining 19 bodies from the scene.

Military chief Hugo Lopez told a press conference on Saturday that assailants had first blocked traffic using a bus and another vehicle before detonating the bomb. Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez said authorities had boosted military and police presence in the affected areas.

President Gustavo Petro blamed the bombing on Ivan Mordisco, Colombia’s most-wanted criminal, whom he has compared to the late cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar. Lopez noted that 26 attacks had been recorded across the Cauca and Valle del Cauca departments in the past two days alone, following a Friday bomb attack on a military base in Cali — Colombia’s third-largest city — that injured two people.

Security has emerged as a central issue in the upcoming presidential election. Political violence was thrust into the national spotlight last June when young conservative presidential frontrunner Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot in broad daylight while campaigning in Bogota and later died from his wounds.

The bombing, coming just over a month before voters choose Petro’s successor, has intensified concerns about the country’s deteriorating security situation. Analysts note that southwestern Colombia has long been affected by armed groups and drug trafficking organizations, with violence typically surging in the lead-up to elections.

Source: Al Jazeera - Colombia highway bombing kills 19

Colombia Highway Bombing Kills 14, Injures 38 in Southwest Attack

goodinfo.net — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 08:30:00 +0800

Colombia Highway Bombing Kills 14, Injures 38 in Southwest Attack

A deadly highway bombing in southwestern Colombia’s Cauca region killed at least 14 people and injured 38, including five minors, according to regional authorities. The attack on Saturday is the 26th violent incident in the region in just two days.

Cauca Governor Octavio Guzmán announced the casualties on social media platform X, saying the explosive device was detonated on the Pan-American Highway in the El Tunel sector of Cajibio municipality.

“As of now, we report 14 people dead and more than 38 injured, including five minors,” Guzmán said. “There are not sufficient words for the pain we feel.” He condemned what he called an “indiscriminate attack” against civilians and demanded a “decisive, sustained” government response to what he described as a “terrorist escalation.”

Video footage shared by the governor showed ambulances at the scene with mangled vehicles and debris covering the road.

General Hugo López, commander-in-chief of Colombia’s Armed Forces, told a press conference that the bombing was a “terrorist act” carried out by networks linked to a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” and the Jaime Martínez faction — both dissident groups of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The FARC signed a landmark peace agreement with the Colombian government in 2016, but some members refused to demobilize and have continued armed operations.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack, calling the perpetrators “terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers.”

The bombing occurred while a high-level government delegation led by Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez was meeting with regional authorities in nearby Palmira to discuss the escalating security crisis. Sanchez said on X: “These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness.”

According to authorities, at least 26 incidents have taken place across Cauca and Valle del Cauca departments in the past 48 hours, including:

A shooting at a police station in rural Jamundi
An attack involving three explosives-laden drones targeting a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo
Two car bombs detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage

Valle del Cauca Governor Francisca Toro called on the national government to provide “immediate support,” requesting reinforcement of public security forces and enhanced intelligence operations in the face of what she described as a “terrorist-level escalation.”

Authorities said the region serves as a critical hub for illicit armed groups competing for control of sea and river routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point for drug trafficking to Central America and Europe.

The government has offered a reward exceeding $1 million for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” identified as the leader of the region’s dissident group.

The violence underscores the persistent security challenges facing Colombia nearly a decade after the 2016 peace agreement. Analysts note that illegal armed groups continue to battle for control of drug trafficking routes and territory, with civilians bearing the brunt of the conflict.

Source: Al Jazeera, Reuters, Associated Press

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Colombia Highway Bombing Kills 19 Ahead of Presidential Election

Highway Bombing Kills 19 in Colombia’s Cauca Department

Colombia Highway Bombing Kills 14, Injures 38 in Southwest Attack

Colombia Highway Bombing Kills 14, Injures 38 in Southwest Attack