Colombia: Bombing Attack in Cucuta City Leaves 14 Injured

Colombian authorities investigate a bombing attack on Monday against the District 1 Police headquarters in the Atalaya neighborhood in Cucuta City, where 12 officers and two civilians were injured.

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"The criminals left an improvised explosive device under a street bench, causing damage to our facility, hurting officers who begin their shift and civilians transiting the area," Cucuta City Police Commander Oscar Moreno confirmed.

The officers were taken to a local health center with minor wounds for shrapnel and stunning, while the civilians were hospitalized for acoustic trauma. Moreno assured that both groups of people are recovering.

The Army, Police brigades, and Public Security teams carried out a preliminary inspection of the crime scene to assess the damage left by the explosion and collect evidence that allows opening a judicial investigation.

"I reject the cowardly attack. Violence will never be the way to solve conflicts. Crime does not frighten us," Cucuta Mayor Jairo Yañez stated. On 15 June, another attack on a military brigade in this city injured 36 people, including two civilians.

On Aug. 28, the National Indigenous Organization (ONIC) condemned the grave humanitarian crisis that Colombians are experiencing for the drug trafficking activities of paramilitary groups, which perpetuate a war of territorial dispute with the impunity of President Ivan Duque's administration.

So far this year, the Black Agile Capital Block paramilitary gang has threatened 56 Indigenous people and murdered 33 Indigenous leaders. About 100 social leaders have also been killed due to this conflict.