A car bomb and a separate attack on a police helicopter in Colombia resulted in the death of at least 17 people on Thursday, according to authorities. President Gustavo Petro attributed both attacks to dissidents of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, commonly known as FARC.
At least 12 police officers lost their lives in the attack on a helicopter that was reportedly transporting personnel to an area in Antioquia in northern Colombia, to eradicate coca leaf crops, the raw material for cocaine. Initially, Petro reported eight officers killed, but Antioquia Gov. Andrés Julián later confirmed that four others had died and three remained injured.
The governor of Antioquia stated on X that a drone attacked the helicopter as it flew over coca leaf crops. Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez said preliminary information indicates the attack caused a fire in the aircraft.
In the meantime, authorities in the southwest city of Cali reported that a vehicle loaded with explosives detonated near a military aviation school, killing five people and injuring more than 30. The Colombian air force did not immediately provide additional details of the explosion.
Petro initially blamed the Gulf Clan, the country’s largest active drug cartel, for the attack on the helicopter. He said the aircraft was targeted in retaliation for a cocaine seizure that allegedly belonged to the group.
The president announced that an alleged member of the dissident group was arrested in the area of the explosion.
FARC dissidents, who rejected a peace agreement with the government in 2016, and members of the Gulf Clan both operate in Antioquia.
Coca leaf cultivation is on the rise in Colombia. The area under cultivation reached a record 253,000 hectares in 2023, according to the latest report available from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.
