21 Dead And More Than 60 Wounded By A Bomb In Colombia

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

An attack with more than 80 kilos of explosives that occurred this Thursday afternoon in a police academy in Bogotá has caused panic in the Colombian capital, awakening the specter of violence in the South American country.

Authorities reported that the attack occurred on the grounds of the General Santander School where a Nissan-brand van ignored the security checkpoint, entering the campus to crash into one of the campus buildings. The impact detonated the powerful cargo that has left 21 dead and at least 68 wounded.

This is the most violent and deadly attack that has occurred in Colombia since the government signed a peace agreement with the FARC Marxist guerrillas in 2016.

"Colombians have never surrendered to terrorism, we have always defeated it and this will be no exception," said Iván Duque, president of the country, at a press conference. The event was held in the vicinity of the educational campus located south of the city.

Among the victims is an outstanding student of Ecuadorian origin and among the wounded are at least two visiting students from Panama, according to ABC News.

According to Attorney General Néstor Humberto Martínez, the person responsible for the attack has been identified as José Aldemar Rojas Rodríguez, 56, who also died at the scene.

So far, no group has been held responsible for the attack, however, some suspect the National Liberation Army, whose members maintain a tense relationship with the government and who have not spoken out against the attack.

On the other hand, spokesmen for the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (FARC) condemned what happened as "serious events". "All our solidarity for the victims," they said.