Particle.news
Download on the App Store
19 ARTICLES
·
11h ago

Death Toll Hits 20 in Colombia Highway Bombing Linked to FARC Dissidents

The government says FARC splinter groups are running a coordinated campaign that is forcing a security surge before the May 31 election.

Image
Red Cross workers operate at the edge of the crater after the explosion on the Pan-American Highway.
A man looks at vehicles damaged in an attack on the Pan-American Highway that killed at least a dozen people and authorities blamed on dissident groups of the former FARC rebels in Cajibio, Colombia, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
People crowd around the site of an explosion after a bomb attack in Colombia on April 25.

Overview

  • Officials said the bus explosion Saturday on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibío killed 20 people and injured 36, including five children.
  • Military leaders blamed dissident FARC factions tied to Iván Mordisco and the Jaime Martínez group, and President Gustavo Petro denounced them as drug-trafficking terrorists.
  • Commanders reported 26 attacks over two days across Cauca and Valle del Cauca, including car bombs near bases in Cali and Palmira, gunfire at a Jamundí police station, and three bomb drones downed over an El Tambo radar site.
  • Authorities reinforced troops and police, convened a national security council, and offered more than $1 million for information on a regional commander known as “Marlon.”
  • Forensic teams are identifying the victims as the U.N. human rights office urges investigations, and fighting over coca zones and drug routes to the port of Buenaventura is raising security fears ahead of the May 31 vote.