Authorities in southwest Colombia are on alert after a spate of violent attacks on infrastructure
BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — Authorities in southwest Colombia were on high alert Saturday following a spate of explosive attacks and thwarted attempts to target public infrastructure.
No one was injured in the assaults, which included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilization of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez, the delegation which includes regional governors and local authorities, met in Palmira.
“These criminals seek to instill fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sánchez wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.”
In a message posted on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups. These groups are vying for control over maritime and riverine access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has blamed the attacks on the Jaime Martínez faction, a dissident group of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, operating in the region that did not adhere to the peace accord signed with the state in 2016.
The government also is offering a reward of more than a million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the dissident group in that region.
The previous day, local authorities offered more than $14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those responsible for the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
