Six Killed, Dozens Injured in Cali Car Bomb Explosion
At least 18 people have been killed and dozens injured in two separate attacks in Colombia linked to dissident factions of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In Cali, the country’s third-largest city, a car bomb exploded on Thursday near a military aviation school, killing six people and injuring 71, according to the mayor’s office.
Earlier the same day, a National Police Black Hawk helicopter was downed by a drone during a coca leaf eradication mission in Antioquia, leaving 12 officers dead. President Gustavo Petro blamed the attacks on FARC dissidents aligned with drug trafficking groups, though he initially attributed the helicopter strike to the Gulf Clan cartel. He later confirmed that a suspect detained in the Cali bombing was a member of the EMC, a federation of FARC splinter groups. Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez said preliminary investigations indicate the drone attack caused a fire on the helicopter. Petro has vowed to push for both the Gulf Clan and FARC dissidents to be declared terrorist organizations, as Colombia struggles with record levels of coca cultivation, which the UN estimated at 253,000 hectares in 2023.
