BOGOTA COLOMBIA- Colombian authorities confirmed the deactivation of two vehicles that contained nearly 600 kilograms of explosives in Cauca, in the southwest of the country, where in recent days there have been several attacks with explosives and shots against the public force that affected civilians.
The explosives contained in gas cylinders would belong, according to the government, to the Dagoberto Ramos structure, part of the dissident Central General Staff of the extinct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), with which they maintain constant confrontations in the southwest of the country.
“Due to intelligence work, it was possible to detect that alias El Cura and Esteban were preparing terrorist attacks with vehicles loaded with explosives to affect the communities and the uniformed members of our public force,” said the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez, in an official statement. .
The two truck-type vehicles had explosives, shrapnel and activation systems inside, the Ministry detailed in a statement.
Violence and insecurity
Last week, an attack with shots and explosives at a police station in Morales, Cauca, caused the death of two officers and left three uniformed officers injured. There were two detainees. In parallel, shots were fired in a rural area of Jamundí and the explosion of a motorcycle in its urban area left at least six injured, including three minors.
Although the government of Gustavo Petro holds a negotiating table with the Central General Staff, there is a division in the dissidents and a large part is not talking, but rather maintains constant confrontations in the southwest of the country, where a ceasefire has been suspended since March. bilateral after an attack on a civilian population.
The police compared the damage potential of the explosive material to be eight times the amount that was used by the National Liberation Army guerrilla to attack a police school in Bogotá with a car bomb that left 23 dead and a hundred injured in 2019. .
Source: AP
