South America09 August, 20263 min read
Colombia Car Bomb Destroys Toll Booth After President Abelardo De La Espriella Sworn In
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Car bomb destroyed a toll booth on Colombia's Pan-American Highway in Cauca. The attack occurred a day after Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in.
Bomb hits toll plaza
A car bomb destroyed a toll booth on the Pan-American Highway in southwest Colombia on Saturday, a day after right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in. The Colombian army blamed factions of the former FARC rebel group for the attack, and said it took place at a toll plaza on the Pan-American Highway, the main road in the country’s southwest. Le Monde reported that two bombing attacks on Saturday, August 8, marked the first day in office for de la Espriella, leaving at least one police officer dead and several wounded.
In the toll-plaza attack near Cali, the army said two security guards suffered minor injuries, and AP reported that one guard told authorities the explosion was caused by a vehicle abandoned by an individual who fled on a motorcycle. AP also reported that de la Espriella warned illegal groups during his inaugural speech that “they have two paths: submit to the rule of law or confront the security forces.”
Officials condemn, blame dissidents
De la Espriella condemned the bombing on social media Saturday, saying “attacking the country's infrastructure is attacking progress” in an X post, and added, “there will be no refuge, no leniency and no impunity.”
Le Monde said the army blamed FARC guerilla dissidents for destroying a highway tollbooth near Cali in the early hours of Saturday, and identified rebels under the command of Ivan Morodisco operating in the area surrounding the tollbooth.
In Cauca, AP reported that Cauca Gov. Jorge Octavio Guzmán told reporters he believes the attacks are intended to isolate the department in order to maintain control over thousands of hectares, calling it “This is not an isolated incident; it is systematic.”
AP also said Minister of Transportation Elsa Noguera condemned the attack and wrote on social media, “Colombia will not kneel before violence, nor will it allow the destruction of the infrastructure that connects our regions.”
The army said on social media that soldiers were securing the area and using trained dogs to search for other explosive devices, with parts of the vehicle scattered around the toll plaza.
Security crackdown and prisons
Beyond the toll-plaza bombing, AP reported that de la Espriella announced the transfer of 117 prisoners linked to the previous administration’s peace talks to eight maximum-security prisons. AP said the measure, according to the country’s corrections agency, aims to “regain permanent control of the prisons” and “contain any capacity of criminal organizations” to coordinate illicit activities from within prisons. Le Monde described de la Espriella’s campaign as confronting “narcoterrorism without truce” and ending peace talks with armed groups following his inauguration Friday in the southwestern city of Cali.
In his inaugural speech, AP said de la Espriella warned illegal groups that “they have two paths: submit to the rule of law or confront the security forces,” setting the tone for a security policy that the army then carried out by securing the area and searching for other explosive devices. The AP account also placed the attack on the road connecting the departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca, whose capital, Cali, hosted Friday’s swearing-in ceremony for de la Espriella, linking the immediate violence to the new administration’s first day in office.