After the bomb attack which left 21 dead and 56 injured on Saturday in southwest Colombia, the EMC guerrillas said on Tuesday "to take political responsibility for this tactical error, which has no justification".
Published on: 04/30/2026 - 01:25
The Colombian EMC guerrilla recognized, on Tuesday April 28, its responsibility in the bomb attack which killed 21 civilians on Saturday, but pleads an "error", while the presidents of the Colombian left and the Ecuadorian right accuse each other of providing support to the guerrillas.
“It is with deep pain that we must assume political responsibility for this tactical error, which has no justification,” said a statement released Tuesday evening by the Central Staff (EMC), the main dissident guerrilla of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia which refused the historic 2016 peace agreement.
A high-intensity bomb exploded on the Pan-American highway linking the towns of Cali and Popayan, in the department of Cauca, killing 21 people and injuring 56 civilians in their vehicles. This is the deadliest death toll against civilians in more than 20 years, a few weeks before the first round of the presidential election on May 31.
The army suspects the rebels of having set up a roadblock to attract the police and ambush them, a military source told AFP.
Arrest of the “main person responsible” for the attack
The Minister of Defense, Pedro Sanchez, affirmed that the EMC intended to act in retaliation for the military pressure exerted in its stronghold of Cauca, covered with vast areas of coca fields, after the failure of peace negotiations between President Gustavo Petro and the leader of this dissidence led by Ivan Mordisco, the most wanted guerrilla in the country.
On Tuesday, the police announced that they had arrested the "main leader" of a local structure affiliated with the EMC, and named José Vitonco, alias Mi Pez, "mainly responsible" for the attack.
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia on Wednesday called on the government and armed groups to respectively “prevent” and “cease all attacks” against civilian populations.
President Gustavo Petro claimed that the attack aimed to “sabotage the elections” while the left, which came to power for the first time in 2022, intends to retain power. Ivan Cepeda, political heir of Gustavo Petro, who is leading the race in the polls, believes that the attacks by armed groups benefit the "extreme right". Right-wing candidates hold the government responsible for the violence, calling into question its negligence towards armed groups.
On Wednesday, Gustavo Petro accused the right-wing government in Ecuador of interference, holding President Daniel Noboa "responsible for the violence in Colombia." He called for an investigation into whether the explosives used in the attack came from Ecuador and published photos of Daniel Noboa with leaders of the Colombian right.
Daniel Noboa for his part accused his Colombian counterpart on Wednesday of having encouraged an "incursion" of guerrillas on the border between the two countries, engaged in an escalation of threats of increased customs taxes. “Several sources have reported to us an incursion of Colombian guerrillas on the northern border, orchestrated by the Petro government. We will protect our border and our population,” wrote Daniel Noboa on X.
With AFP
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