At least 18 people have been killed and dozens more injured in two attacks in Colombia, further deepening the country's worst security crisis in decades.
The first attack took place in the western city of Cali, where a car bomb exploded on a busy street, killing six people and wounding more than 60. The suspected target was the Marco Fidel Suarez Military Aviation School, near which the explosion occurred. Witnesses reported a “terrible noise” and extensive damage to nearby homes.
Earlier on Thursday, a drone attack on a police helicopter in a rural area near the city of Medellín killed 12 officers after the helicopter crashed after being hit by an explosive device.
Cali's mayor, Alejandro Eder, declared a state of emergency, temporarily banned the circulation of large trucks in the city and offered a $10,000 reward for anyone providing information on the perpetrators.
President Gustavo Petro, along with military leaders and the Ministry of Defense, announced the meeting of an emergency security council to establish additional measures to protect citizens.
"The state will not surrender in the face of terrorism. These crimes will be pursued and punished with the full force of the law," the Ministry of Defense declared on social media.
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez called the explosion in Cali "a terrorist act orchestrated by the drug cartel led by Ivan Mordisco," a known FARC dissident leader.
The drone attack that brought down the helicopter occurred while it was on a mission to destroy plantations of coca leaf, a main ingredient in cocaine, in the Amalfi area, in the north of the country.
Colombia is experiencing a new wave of violence, with clashes between security forces, armed rebels, paramilitaries and drug gangs. Drone attacks are becoming increasingly common, with 115 such attacks recorded in 2024 alone, most of them by illegal armed groups.
Just last week, three soldiers were killed in the southwest of the country when a drone dropped explosives on a military checkpoint.
Elections expected next year in Colombia are already under the shadow of uncertainty, while peace processes with former rebels and drug cartels are at their most fragile point.
