Colombia records more than 30 guerrilla attacks since Friday

Bus structure that exploded in an attack by Colombian armed groups in front of a military base in western Colombia, on April 24, 2025. Joaquín Sarmiento/ AFP At least 31 guerrilla attacks were recorded in southwestern Colombia over the weekend, including the detonation of a bomb on a highway that left 21 people dead, according to the government’s most recent report. The number of fatalities in the explosive attack on Saturday in the department of Cauca rose to 21, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Caracol radio this Monday (27). Another 56 people were injured. Since Friday, 31 guerrilla actions have been recorded in three departments in the southwest of the country, a spokeswoman for the Military Forces told AFP. The attacks are attributed to a dissident faction of the FARC guerrilla, commanded by the insurgent known as Iván Mordisco, the most wanted criminal in Colombia, who finances himself mainly through cocaine trafficking. The “terrorist wave” is a response to military operations in the region, Minister Sánchez assured Blu Radio, describing these actions as “war crimes”. Cauca, with an extensive area of ​​narcotics cultivation, is one of the departments most affected by guerrilla violence before the general elections on May 31st. Leftist President Gustavo Petro branded the rebels “terrorists” and ordered law enforcement to redouble their persecution. The main presidential candidates also condemned the acts of violence. The attacks sow a “climate of fear” on the eve of the elections, leftist Iván Cepeda, favorite in voting intention polls and Petro’s political heir, who cannot run for re-election, said on X. After coming to power in 2022, Petro unsuccessfully tried to negotiate peace with the largest armed organizations, which have strengthened their ranks in recent years. “These are not isolated acts, they are part of a plan to destabilize Petro’s misrule,” said right-wing lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, second in the polls. “This government has allowed violence to grow”, said, in turn, senator Paloma Valencia, candidate for the party of former president Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) and originally from Cauca, who is competing shoulder to shoulder with De la Espriella for a possible place in the second round.

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