On Saturday, Colombia was rocked by two separate bombing incidents, casting a shadow over the inauguration of the new President, Abelardo de la Espriella. Tragically, these attacks resulted in the death of a police officer and left several others injured.
As a hard-line right-wing leader, de la Espriella has pledged to tackle “narcoterrorism without truce” and has vowed to cease peace negotiations with armed factions. He delivered this stern message shortly after taking the oath of office in the bustling southwestern city of Cali.
In one of the attacks, Colombian military officials identified FARC guerrilla dissidents as the perpetrators. They employed explosives to obliterate a highway tollbooth near Cali, early on Saturday. This act of violence resulted in minor injuries to two security personnel in the vicinity.
The affected area is known for the presence of rebels led by Ivan Morodisco, Colombia’s most notorious guerrilla commander. These insurgents operate around the tollbooth, which was still under construction along the vital Pan-American Highway in the Santander de Quilichao region.
Morodisco commands a faction of dissidents who opposed the landmark 2016 peace deal between the FARC and the Colombian government, opting instead to continue their armed struggle.
De la Espriella condemned the bombing on social media, saying “attacking the country’s infrastructure is attacking progress”.
“To those responsible, I send a clear message: there will be no refuge, no leniency and no impunity,” he added.
‘Will not go unpunished’
About 1,000 kilometers away, in the northern department of Cesar, an officer was killed in another bombing early Sunday when an explosive-equipped drone struck a police station, officials there said.
Authorities there have not yet identified suspects, but De la Espriella vowed whoever is responsible “will not go unpunished.”
The confrontational style of the first-time political leader, who openly admires US President Donald Trump and El Salvador’s hardline Nayib Bukele, now faces tough opposition from the guerrilla groups and drug traffickers operating in Colombia.
De la Espriella has promised to open mega-prisons like Bukele and to intensify bombing raids against guerrilla groups and drug traffickers operating in Colombia, with support from the United States and Israel.
His inauguration comes during the worst wave of violence the country has experienced in the last decade.
A decade after landmark peace accords, pockets of Colombia are still ruled by dissident armed groups that dominate global cocaine production.
Roberto Sandoval, a firefighter who lives in the neighborhood next to the tollbooth, told the Agence France-Presse news agency that tensions were high following the bombing.
“We are all on edge, very tense and nervous,” he said.
Elsewhere in the neighborhood, the blast shattered windows and left glass strewn on the bed of Sonia Zapata, a 68-year-old housewife.
She said she feels “very nervous, very afraid”.
US security assistance
The US State Department announced on Saturday that Trump plans to provide US $1 billion ($1.4B) in security assistance to De la Espriella’s government.
The department described the security aid as a “cornerstone of this renewed partnership” that would help Colombia in “achieving our shared goals”.
Trump endorsed De la Espriella during the elections and has now welcomed Colombia into the “Shield of the Americas,” a Trump-created military alliance of right-wing leaders pledging to fight drug trafficking.
The alliance is a key part of Trump’s strategy to increase US presence and influence in Latin America.
In January, Trump ordered the seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a deadly raid while the administration spent months carrying out strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that have killed dozens.
Rights advocates, both in the US and around the world, say such actions are illegal, imperial and amount to extrajudicial killings, but the US administration has defended them as necessary to counter drug trafficking and illegal immigration.