Two Attacks by Rebels Kill 4 Colombian Security Personnel
At least four police officers were killed in two separate attacks carried out by armed individuals suspected of belonging to leftist extremist groups in southwestern Colombia on Tuesday. Authorities reported that various armed groups are battling for control of the cocaine trade in the region.
In the first attack, for which authorities blamed the National Liberation Army (ELN), two police officers were killed by a bomb explosion while patrolling on a motorcycle in the city of Cali.
Meanwhile, two other officers were killed in a village in the neighboring Cauca department after rebels attacked a police station for hours with explosives, grenades, and rifles, according to Governor Octavio Guzmán.
Videos circulated on social media showed several buildings on the main street of the village reduced to rubble.
Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the attacks were carried out by members of dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who oppose the peace agreement signed with the government in 2016.
As a result, the death toll of police and military personnel killed by armed groups in Colombia has risen to approximately 150.
On Sunday, the Colombian National Liberation Army, which controls cocaine-producing areas, announced a three-day curfew for residents of these regions, justifying it by citing “threats of imperialist intervention” made by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The U.S. President had warned that cocaine-producing countries in Latin America might “come under attack,” specifically targeting Colombia, which he stated “produces cocaine” and “sells it to us.”
