Colombia: At least 14 dead in explosives attack blamed on FARC rebels

An explosives attack in western Colombia has left at least 14 people dead and 18 others wounded. The attack occurred Saturday on the Pan-American Highway in the El Tunel area of Cajibio, approximately 21 miles from the provincial capital of Popayan.

The blast targeted a critical transit artery in the Cauca province. Images circulating on social media showed a scene of devastation along the highway, which was quickly cordoned off by security forces.

Governor Octavio Guzman confirmed that this was one of several "criminal actions" reported across the province on Saturday. In a blunt statement on X (formerly Twitter), Guzman called for the national government to intervene more aggressively.

"Cauca cannot continue to face this barbarity alone," Guzman stated. "We are facing a terrorist escalation that demands immediate responses."

Authorities have attributed the massacre to dissidents of the FARC guerrilla group. Originally formed as a Marxist insurgency in the 1960s, the FARC officially disbanded following a 2016 peace accord. However, "dissident" factions have since surged, rejecting the treaty to maintain control over illegal drug trade and mining corridors. 

These splinter groups have largely traded their political ideology for organized crime, launching frequent "terrorist escalations" and explosives attacks against civilians and security forces in rural strongholds like the Cauca province.

Presidential candidate Paloma Valencia, a member of the opposition Democratic Center party, labeled the attack an act of "terrorism." She accused the Petro administration of "minimizing the violence" and "dismantling the state," demanding immediate and forceful backing for the Colombian Armed Forces and police.