Colombian authorities have blamed the nation's largest remaining rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), for an explosion outside a police base in Cucuta that injured 11 officers and killed a police dog. The attack occurred early Saturday in the border city, a region known for conflict over smuggling routes.
Gen. William Rincon, director of Colombia's police, stated that the blast originated from a truck left outside the police headquarters for Norte de Santander Province. The explosion caused significant damage to the building's roof and shattered its windows.
Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez identified the ELN as the perpetrators and offered a $60,000 reward for information leading to those responsible. This incident occurs as Colombia prepares for the inauguration of a new president next Friday. Abelardo de la Espriella, an ultra-conservative politician who has pledged to end peace talks with rebel groups, will be sworn into office in Cali.
The ELN, founded in the 1960s, has been engaged in conflict with the Colombian government for decades and is believed to have approximately 6,000 fighters operating in Colombia and Venezuela. While initially formed with goals of social justice, Colombian authorities now characterize the group as a criminal organization involved in illegal gold mining and drug trafficking.
Under outgoing President Gustavo Petro, who pursued a strategy of "Total Peace" and initiated negotiations with the ELN, peace talks faltered early last year following attacks near Cucuta that resulted in an estimated 78 deaths and the displacement of 56,000 people. Incoming President de la Espriella has indicated a shift towards a more forceful military approach against armed groups and a resumption of aerial fumigation of coca crops.
Following a 2016 peace agreement that led to the disarmament of over 13,000 Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) fighters, a power vacuum in some rural areas has been exploited by smaller groups like the ELN. IMAGE1: Police officers inspect the wreckage of a truck after a car bomb detonation. IMAGE2: Forensic investigators and police examine debris at the site of a car bomb explosion in Cucuta, Colombia.