At least 18 killed in guerrilla attacks on Colombia’s security forces
A truck bomb in Cali and a drone attack on a police helicopter in Antioquía kill 12 police, and 6 civilians
Today’s ‘Daily Wire’ is by Adriann Alsema from Colombia Reports
At least 18 people were killed and more than 60 people were injured in two guerrilla attacks on Colombia’s security forces on Thursday.
The first attack was carried out in Amalfi, a town in the Antioquia province, and cost the lives of 12 anti-narcotics police, whose helicopter was attacked.
According to Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez, the apparent drone attack on the police helicopter was carried out by the 36th Front, a unit of of the FARC dissident group EMBF.
“We have deployed all the institutional capacities to neutralize those response,” Sanchez said in a post on social media platform X.
The defense minister additionally offered a $50,000 (COP200,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of guerrilla leaders in the Cauca province who are believed to be behind the car bomb attack near Cali’s military airport.
This attack left at least six people dead and more than 60 people injured. All of the victims were civilians, according to Sanchez.
The guerrilla chiefs linked to the attack are the regional commanders of FARC dissident group EMC, which controls much of the countryside south of Cali.
This cowardly attack against civilians is a desperate reaction to the loss of control of drug trafficking in Valle del Cauca, Cauca, and Nariño, where the security forces have neutralized much of this threat and are making irreversible progress in restoring legality to the territory.
-Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez
In response to the attacks, President Gustavo Petro called on State security agencies to declare the Junta del Narcotrafico a terrorist organization.
This drug trafficking organization, which was also called the Bogota Cartel or the El Dorado Cartel in the past, has allegedly teamed up with paramilitary organization EGC and multiple guerrilla groups to secure its control over drug trafficking routes and informal emerald mining enterprises.
The Junta was allegedly dismantled in 2012, but appears to have returned after the return of multiple of its extradited former leaders.
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Hasta pronto, piratas!