BOGOTÁ, Colombia — An explosive device killed 13 people traveling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country’s army chief described as a “terrorist act” that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was traveling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia’s Armed Forces,told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act” and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” -- one of Colombia’s most wanted figures -- and the Jaime Martinez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martinez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians -- and wounded 17 others -- in Cajibio -- many of them Indigenous people -- are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosives attacks and thwarted attempts to target public infrastructure.
At least 26 criminal incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwest Colombia, which Lopez said has only affected civilians.
No one was injured in the previous assaults, which include a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier Saturday.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region -- a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking -- prompted the mobilization of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instill fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.”
In a message posted on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups. These groups are vying for control over maritime and riverine access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura -- a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has blamed the attacks on the Jaime Martinez faction, a dissident group of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, operating in the region that did not adhere to the peace accord signed with the state in 2016.
The government also is offering a reward of more than a million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the dissident group in that region.
The previous day, local authorities offered more than US$14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those responsible for the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
