Bombings overshadow first day for new Colombian president
Two bombing attacks in different parts of Colombia marked the first day in office for new President Abelardo de la Espriella, leaving at least one police officer dead and several wounded.
On the inaugural day of his presidency, at least one police officer lost their life and several others were wounded in two separate bombing attacks across Colombia. President Abelardo de la Espriella took office on Friday in the southwestern city of Cali, where he vowed to tackle narcoterrorism and cease peace negotiations with armed factions.
The Colombian military reported that FARC dissidents, under the command of Ivan Morodisco, utilized explosives to obliterate a motorway tollbooth near Cali. Morodisco, previously Colombia's most wanted guerrilla commander, leads a faction that seceded from the 2016 peace accord between the FARC and the Colombian government. In response to the attacks, de la Espriella denounced the bombings on social media, declaring that those accountable would face no sanctuary, leniency, or impunity.
Approximately 1,000 kilometers away, in the northern Cesar department, another bombing resulted in the death of a police officer when an explosive-equipped drone targeted a police station. Colombian authorities have yet to identify the perpetrators, but President de la Espriella vowed that they would not evade justice. The confrontational approach of the new president, who admires US President Donald Trump and El Salvador's Nayib Bukele, faces significant opposition from guerrilla groups and drug traffickers operating within Colombia.
Colombia is grappling with its most violent decade since implementing landmark peace accords, with pockets of the country persisting under the influence of dissident armed groups that control substantial cocaine production.
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