Attacks shake Colombia in the midst of the countdown to the presidential elections. An attack with explosives on the Pan-American highway, in the department of Cauca, left at least 19 dead on April 25, adding to other violent events such as the car bomb detonated the day before against a military unit in Cali. The Government attributes this escalation to FARC dissidents who reject the 2016 peace agreement.

First modification: 04/26/2026 - 17:37 Last modification: 04/27/2026 - 01:15

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Colombia faces an uptick in violence and an increase in attacks against civilians and the military at a crucial moment for the country, which will hold presidential elections on May 31.

On Saturday, April 25, an attack on the Pan-American Highway killed 19 people, according to the most recent information on Sunday. Initially on Saturday there were 14 deaths. According to the Army, a cylinder loaded with explosives was thrown by guerrillas and detonated in the middle of the road, in an area known as El Túnel, in the municipality of Cajibío, almost 35 kilometers from the city of Popayán, capital of the department of Cauca.

The explosion and its impact killed the passengers of a bus, caused damage to 15 other vehicles that were traveling on the road and caused a huge crater in the pavement, according to the first images and videos released by witnesses and local authorities.

In another incident, armed men this Saturday attacked the radar located on Cerro Santana, in the Colombian town of El Tambo, in the department of Cauca (southwest), used to control air traffic in that region of the country.

The day before, two attacks occurred against military installations in Cali and Palmira, in Valle del Cauca. A vehicle loaded with explosives exploded near the Pichincha Battalion, a military unit that also houses the headquarters of the Army's Third Brigade, and the Agustín Codazzi Engineer Battalion, in Palmira. Attacks that, in both cases, caused no victims

The Colombian State attributes this violence to illegal armed groups and dissidents of the FARC guerrilla group and the militias of the National Liberation Army (ELN).

The authorities attributed the attacks in Cali and Palmira to the 'Jaime Martínez' column, which is part of the Central General Staff (EMC), the main dissident of the FARC, led by alias Iván Mordisco, the most wanted man in Colombia.

The governor of Cauca, Octavio Guzmán — who linked Saturday's attack on the Panamericana to a "terrorist escalation" — declared that the attack was one of several acts perpetrated in the department during Saturday in other sectors: El Tambo, Caloto, Popayán, Guachené, Mercaderes and Miranda.

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"We are facing a terrorist escalation that demands immediate responses. We demand forceful, sustained and effective actions from the national government in the face of the serious crisis of public order that we are experiencing... This is a direct offensive against life, against a defenseless people. We are not going to allow the violent to continue imposing fear and challenging the State," he wrote in a message broadcast on the social network X.

This statement was also followed by that of the General Commander of the Military Forces, General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto, for whom the uptick in violence in the country is a direct consequence of the State's action against illegal groups and militias, which multiplied after the signing of the peace agreement with the FARC and maintain a constant war for the control of territories and drug transit routes.

"Evidently, these acts of terrorism are a direct reaction to the forcefulness of our military operations. The sustained pressure that we have been exerting has significantly affected their illicit economies, especially drug trafficking, as well as their criminal actions," he said in a press conference on Saturday, which was also broadcast on X.

López Barreto also stated that he had ordered the immediate deployment of joint military units and operations “with the purpose of reestablishing territorial military control and protecting the population.”

Various illegal armed groups operate in the department of Cauca, including several dissident fronts of the FARC and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, as well as drug trafficking gangs that dispute strategic areas of that region, which is an important outlet to the Pacific Ocean for drug trafficking.

Read alsoColombia: attack on the Pan-American Highway and security challenges before the elections

Terrorism, violence and responsibilities

President Gustavo Petro called those responsible for the attack on the Pan-American Highway, near the municipality of Cajibío, Cauca, "terrorists, fascists and drug traffickers." The president - the first leftist in the country and who will end his term in August - assured that the groups seek to sow "fear in the population through violence" and maintained that this fear is used by both drug trafficking and extremist sectors to exercise territorial and political control.

"Those who attacked and killed seven civilians and injured 17 more civilians in Cajibío (...) are terrorists, fascists and drug traffickers," the president wrote in his

Petro, who in his youth was active in the urban guerrilla movement M-19, promoted a policy of 'total peace' through negotiations and ceasefires with different armed groups, including guerrillas, criminal gangs and drug trafficking cartels.

However, various sectors of the opposition and security analysts question the effectiveness of this policy given the persistence of armed actions in regions such as Cauca.

Presidential candidate Paloma Valencia, a member of the right-wing opposition Democratic Center party and originally from Cauca, described the attack perpetrated by the dissident FARC faction as "terrorism", which rejected the 2016 peace agreement signed with President Juan Manuel Santos.

"The government of President Gustavo Petro cannot continue minimizing violence or dismantling the State," he declared. "We demand immediate measures, full support for our Armed Forces and police, and concrete results."

It is not the first time that violence increases during election times in Colombia. In fact, the 2022 presidential and legislative elections were the most violent in Colombia in the last 12 years, recording a 109% increase in acts of violence compared to 2018, according to the Electoral Observation Mission.

At that time, the deterioration of security was attributed to the consolidation of multiple armed groups that occupied the power vacuums after the peace process with the FARC, with Los Urabeños and the ELN being the main responsible for violent actions in strategic departments such as Cauca, Nariño and Chocó; while the FARC dissidents focused primarily on controlling drug trafficking routes, as reported at the time by the Ombudsman's Office and InSight Crime.

Read alsoColombia: attack with explosives in Cauca leaves several victims and injuries

With Reuters, AP, AFP, EFE and local media

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