Car bomb attack against military base in Colombia leaves 36 injured (Update 2)

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A terrorist attack against a Colombian military base in Cúcuta, in which there were U.S. personnel, left 36 wounded on Tuesday, among them two civilians, informed the Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, who said that the ELN guerrilla movement is suspected.

Molano went to Cúcuta, bordering Venezuela, where he said that, as a result of the attack with a car bomb at the headquarters of the Army’s Thirtieth Brigade, “36 people were wounded so far, three of them presented some level of seriousness and one of them has already undergone surgery”.

In the attacked unit there was a small group of U.S. military personnel who were not harmed, according to the U.S. embassy.

“A small number of U.S. military personnel were at the Colombian military base in Cucuta conducting training with a Colombian unit at the time of the explosion. All U.S. personnel have been verified and there are no reports of serious injuries,” the embassy reported in a message on Twitter.

The diplomatic mission added that “the United States is proud of its longstanding cooperation with the Colombian Armed Forces, which includes joint training and exercises.”

HYPOTHESIS POINTS TO ELN

For his part, the minister explained that the first hypothesis of what he called “an insane and vile act” points to the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas as the perpetrator, although it is also being investigated whether “FARC dissidents, GAO (Organized Armed Groups) 33” are involved in the act.

In the department of Norte de Santander, whose capital is Cúcuta, there is a strong presence of the ELN, FARC dissidents and other criminal groups fighting for control of coca crops and drug trafficking routes.

Molano added that a white van loaded with explosives entered the military installations with two men impersonating government officials and shortly afterward two explosions occurred.

The way the attack was perpetrated is similar to the one committed on January 17, 2019, by the ELN, which exploded a car bomb at the General Santander Police Cadet School in Bogota, in which 22 cadets were killed, as well as an Ecuadorian woman, and 67 other people were injured.

TWO EXPLOSIONS

According to Molano, the first explosion today occurred around 3.10 PM local time (8.10 PM GMT) and two minutes later a second, stronger one occurred that affected the base’s buildings.

“We reject and repudiate this terrorist and vile act that sought to attack Colombian soldiers in the brigade,” emphasized the minister, who added that the perpetrators “are scoundrels who seek to affect the integrity of our soldiers.”

The U.S. embassy also regretted the wounded among the Colombian personnel.

“It is with pain and sadness that we send our solidarity to the members of the Colombian Army wounded in Cúcuta. Cooperation with the Colombian Armed Forces is one of the pillars of our efforts to combat transnational crime in the region,” it said.

Given the seriousness of the situation, Colombian President Iván Duque also decided to travel to Cúcuta to meet “with the leadership of the security forces and the authorities of the city and the department to directly monitor the situation”.

The explosions, which could be seen from neighboring neighborhoods, especially affected an area of offices which, according to some military personnel, were empty since part of the brigade’s personnel, attached to the Army’s Second Division, is under quarantine for coronavirus.