A car bomb exploded Saturday in southwestern Colombia, the army said, a day after conservative political neophyte Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in as Colombia’s new president.
The army alleged the attack was carried out by two dissident groups of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The groups did not accept the peace agreement that FARC signed a decade ago with the Colombian government.
The explosion took place at a toll plaza on the Pan-American Highway, the main road in the country’s southwest. The army said two security guards suffered minor injuries in the attack. One of the guards told authorities that the explosion was caused by a vehicle that had been abandoned by an individual who fled on a motorcycle.
The affected road connects the departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca, whose capital, Cali, hosted Friday’s swearing-in ceremony for de la Espriella. During his inaugural speech, he outlined his security policy and warned illegal groups that “they have two paths: submit to the rule of law or confront the security forces.”
The army on Saturday said on social media that soldiers were securing the area and using trained dogs to search for other explosive devices. Scattered around the toll plaza were parts of the vehicle, including the charred chassis.
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The explosion woke up families who live in houses located a few yards (meters) from the crime scene. Elizabeth Zapata, 57, said she felt the blast wave “lift them out of bed” and the windows shattered. Her family members, who live with several children, “arrived with shards of glass embedded in their backs.”
Cauca Gov. Jorge Octavio Guzmán told reporters he believes the attacks are intended to isolate the department in order to maintain control over thousands of hectares.
“This is not an isolated incident; it is systematic,” he said.
Minister of Transportation Elsa Noguera condemned the attack and said work was underway to restore traffic in the area.
“Colombia will not kneel before violence, nor will it allow the destruction of the infrastructure that connects our regions,” she wrote on social media.
Dozens of prisoners sent to maximum security prisons
Also on Saturday, de la Espriella announced the transfer of 117 prisoners linked to the previous administration’s peace talks to eight maximum-security prisons. The measure, according to the country’s corrections agency, aims to “regain permanent control of the prisons” and “contain any capacity of criminal organizations” to coordinate illicit activities from within prisons. De la Espriella has rejected the dialogue with armed groups promoted by his predecessor, Gustavo Petro.
With no prior political experience, the 48-year-old de la Espriella, a lawyer and businessperson, narrowly defeated Iván Cepeda, a progressive senator and Petro ally, in a June runoff election in a polarized political climate.
His term begins with a robust opposition led by Petro, who refused to acknowledge his victory and insisted on alleged fraud despite the official declaration from the electoral authority and the positive assessment from international observers.
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