A little over a month before the presidential election, a bomb attack devastated the department of Cauca, in the southwest of Colombia, on Saturday. At least 14 people were killed and nearly forty injured. The authorities point the finger at the main dissidence of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).

Published on: 04/26/2026 - 02:49 Modified on: 04/26/2026 - 14:00

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A bomb attack left at least 14 dead and 38 injured on Saturday April 25 on a road in southwest Colombia. The country is shaken by a series of attacks just over a month before the presidential election.

In the midst of an electoral campaign dominated by security issues, the authorities have pointed the finger at the main dissidence of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), which has not adhered to the 2016 peace agreement and is sowing terror in the country.

AFP images show people around the bodies of the victims, destroyed vehicles and deep craters on a road in the Cauca department, a traditional zone of influence of armed groups, where the explosion occurred.

“At present we have 14 dead and more than 38 injured, including five minors,” the governor of the Cauca department, Octavio Guzman, said on X.

Witnesses said the impact threw them and their vehicles several meters.

“We were waiting to be let through to continue on our way and this bomb exploded there,” Francisco Javier Betancourt, coffee producer and witness to the attack, told AFP. “I was afraid (...), look where the country has arrived,” he added.

“Terrorists, fascists and drug traffickers”

A police source told AFP that rescue teams were still trying to locate missing people.

It was difficult to assess the number of victims due to exchanges of fire with guerrillas in three Cauca police stations, she added.

“Those who committed this attack and killed (...) are terrorists, fascists and drug traffickers,” President Gustavo Petro, who is preparing to leave power, denounced on X. “I want the best soldiers to confront them,” he added, accusing the leader of the main Farc dissidence, Ivan Mordisco, whom he often compared to the late drug lord Pablo Escobar.

After a year of trying to negotiate a peace deal with Ivan Mordisco, the first left-wing president in Colombia's history opted for a head-on war with the guerrilla. A reward of approximately one million dollars is being offered for information leading to his capture.

On Friday, an attack on a military base left one dead in the country's third city, Cali, located in the southwest, and marked the start of a series of attacks in the stronghold of Farc dissidence under the control of Ivan Mordisco.

Climate of tension

In 2025, bloody attacks against law enforcement in the region caused civilian casualties and marked the worst wave of violence the country had seen in the last decade.

Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez assured on Saturday that the military and police presence would be reinforced in the area.

This latest wave of attacks exacerbates the climate of tension in the run-up to the presidential election on May 31, for which security has been one of the central themes since the assassination of right-wing candidate Miguel Uribe, shot dead during a meeting in June 2025.

Gustavo Petro, elected in 2022, will leave power. His political heir apparent, Senator Ivan Cepeda, is favored in the polls, followed by the right-wing candidates Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia. All three have reported death threats and benefit from reinforced security arrangements.

In Colombia, it is common for armed groups, which finance themselves through illegal activities such as drug trafficking, mining and extortion, to attempt to exert violent pressure on local and national elections.

With AFP

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