Colombia: At Least Two Dead in Explosion in Antioquia

On Saturday, authorities in the Colombian department of Antioquia reported on an explosion at a Highway Police checkpoint in Cañasgordas, which resulted in the death of at least two policemen.

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The authorities reported that one of the bodies corresponds to the patrolman, Sergio Vergara Atehortúa, while the other, although the identity has not been specified, corresponds to a civilian who was in a car at the time of the detonation.

At the same time, it was reported that the incident wounded police officers Néstor Ramírez Zuluaga and Hugo Uribe Giraldo, who are receiving medical attention at the local hospital, although they will later be transferred to a center in Medellín.

For his part, the mayor of Cañasgordas, Aicardo Urrego, said that it was "an attack against the public forces, against the Highway Police, on the road in the Imántago sector".

Preliminary investigations point to members of the paramilitary nucleus Clan del Golfo as presumed suspects. In view of this, the search is being carried out under a tactic known as "padlock".

On the other hand, Mayor Urrego previously warned of the high probability of a mass exodus due to the increase in the number of terrorist acts in this region.

According to local sources, some 16 police and army personnel have been killed by armed groups in Antioquia department this year.