A car bomb detonated outside a police station in Los Patios, a town in northeastern Colombia near the Venezuelan border, killing one civilian and injuring eleven others, including police officers. The explosion occurred around midnight on Tuesday, according to officials.
President Abelardo de la Espriella stated that the government would pursue those responsible for the attack, asserting that "Colombia will not yield to terrorism." He was sworn into office in August and has pledged to combat crime, recently canceling peace talks with various rebel groups.
The area surrounding the nearby city of Cucuta has long been a contested zone for drug gangs and rebel factions vying for control of smuggling routes into Venezuela. In August, an explosion outside a police station in Cucuta injured 11 officers and killed a police dog. Authorities attributed that attack to the National Liberation Army, Colombia's largest remaining rebel group.
A peace accord signed a decade ago between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, contributed to a decrease in violence in many parts of the nation. However, crime rates have risen in certain regions as smaller groups engage in conflict with each other and target the government in their efforts to control territory formerly held by the FARC.