Bomb blast kills 13 on major highway in western Colombia

A bomb tore through the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Cauca, killing 20 people and injuring many more on a route that carries travelers, freight and emergency traffic through western Colombia. The blast hit the El Tunel area, about 35 kilometers from Popayan, after authorities first reported 13 dead and 17 wounded before the toll climbed on Sunday.

The dead included 15 women and five men, and five children were among the injured, according to Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo. Gen. Hugo López called the blast a “terrorist act” and blamed the network of Iván Mordisco and the Jaime Martínez faction, both dissident offshoots of the FARC that continue to operate in the region.

Governor Octavio Guzmán said the attack was one of several criminal actions reported in Cauca that day and warned that “Cauca cannot continue to face this barbarity alone. We are facing a terrorist escalation that demands immediate responses.” His warning reflects a deeper breakdown in a department where armed groups compete for territory, influence and trafficking routes, leaving civilians to absorb the shock of violence on roads that should be serving commerce and daily life.

The bombing also landed in the middle of a political crisis for Gustavo Petro, who on April 22 said he was ending peace talks with a leading rebel group. Petro then demanded “immediate action, full backing for our Armed Forces and police, and concrete results,” a blunt sign that his “total peace” agenda is under severe strain as armed factions expand their reach and the state struggles to secure the southwest.