People observe vehicles destroyed by an attack on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, on Sunday. The explosion of a gas cylinder bomb launched on Saturday by suspected Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia dissidents on a section of the Pan-American Highway in the Colombian department of Cauca left 19 dead. Photo by Ernesto Guzman/EPA
The toll from a recent wave of narco-terror violence in southwestern Colombia has risen to 20 civilians killed and 36 more injured, the region’s governor said Sunday.
The dead include 15 women and five men, all adults, while three of the 36 people injured remain hospitalized in intensive care units, according to Octavio Guzmán, governor of the department of Cauca.
The spate of at least two dozen incidents aimed at civilians during a two-day period are blamed on dissident factions of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that still operate in Cauca state.
The wave escalated sharply on Saturday when an explosive device was detonated at Cajibio along the Pan-American Highway, killing 19 civilians and injuring more than 20 on a passing bus.
The vital highway running the length of Central and South America was closed over the weekend as police and rescuers worked at the scene of the blast, which left a crater in the highway measuring 200 cubic meters.
“It is a tragedy that tears us apart as a department and deeply mourns our families,” Guzmán wrote on a social media post. “There are not enough words for the pain we feel today.”
On Sunday, he called the attack “the most brutal and ruthless attack against the civilian population in decades in the Cauca department,” but vowed that “in the face of terrorism, we respond with greater institutional presence and comprehensive work.”
Officials are working to reopen the highway, identify the victims and send aid to their families, Guzmán said.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro blamed the attacks on militant factions of the now-defunct FARC rebel army commanded by Néstor Gregorio Vera Fernández, known by the alias Iván Mordisco, who leads the group known as the Central General Staff.
Petro also named Jacobo Arredondo, alias “Marlon,” as another suspect in the bombing.
He called the attackers “terrorists, fascists and drug traffickers,” asserting they are far-right figures who want to bring fascism to Colombia “because they know that with them they can conduct their cocaine and illicit gold businesses.”
The Colombian leader called for a “worldwide pursuit against this narco-terrorist group” and urged financial authorities across South America to crack down on its transactions.
“I want the best soldiers to confront them, I want the Cauca people to free themselves from this mafia,” he declared.
