Colombia explosives attack kills 13, police source says

The FARC guerrilla group was blamed for the deadly attacks in Cauca province

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Reuters April 26, 2026 1 min read

Dashcam footage shows a person running as debris flies through the air in the distance at the moment of the explosion that killed over a dozen people, in Cajibio, Cauca, Colombia, April 25, 2026. REUTERS

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At least 13 people were killed and 17 wounded in an explosives ​attack in western Colombia on Saturday, a police ‌source told Reuters, in violence authorities have blamed on dissidents of the FARC guerrilla group.

The attack took place on the Pan-American ​Highway in the El Tunel area of Cajibio ​municipality, about 35 km (22 miles) from Popayan, the capital ⁠of Cauca province, according to authorities.

Cauca Governor Octavio ​Guzman said on X the attack was one of several ​criminal actions reported in the province on Saturday.

Read More: Clashes in Colombia between guerrilla groups leave 27 dead, sources say

"Cauca cannot continue to face this barbarity alone. We are facing a terrorist escalation that ​demands immediate responses. We demand forceful, sustained and effective ​action from the national government in the face of the grave ‌public ⁠order crisis we are experiencing," he added.

Presidential candidate Paloma Valencia, a member of the opposition right-wing Democratic Center party who is from Cauca, called the attack "terrorism" carried out ​by the dissident ​FARC faction, ⁠which rejected a 2016 peace deal.

"President Gustavo Petro's government cannot continue minimizing the violence ​or dismantling the state," she said. "We demand ​immediate action, ⁠full backing for our Armed Forces and police, and concrete results."

Petro, a former rebel himself whose term as president ⁠is ​nearing an end, has pursued a "total ​peace" policy with guerrillas through negotiations and intermittent ceasefires.