An attack with explosives in Cali and the demolition of a police helicopter leave at least 14 dead and dozens of injured in Colombia

“After the defeat produced to the Carlos Patiño column with the loss of a good part of the Micay Canyon, we have a terrorist reaction in Cali,” Petro wrote in X.

Before, in the same social network, the President attributed the attack on the police helicopter to the 36th central staff.

None of these armed groups have attributed the authorship of the attacks.

These occur in the midst of repeated questions to Petro's “total peace”.

Opposition voices link this policy that promised more dialogue and conciliation with groups armed with the deterioration of security in Colombia that, although it does not reach the levels of decades, makes a dent in citizen perception.

According to the police, this afternoon's attack in Cali, made with bomb cylinders, was aimed at the Marco Fidel Suárez air base, in the north of the city.

Witnesses on the field told the AFP news agency that they heard explosions near the base, that there were many people injured and that several houses were damaged.

Several buildings were evacuated and the Mayor's Office reported street closures and circulation restrictions.

In the same area, the presence of a van with bomb cylinders was reported, although it was then ruled out that they were loaded.

The mayor, Alejandro Eder, offered a reward of up to 400 million pesos “to whom he provides information that allows identifying and capturing those responsible.”

Valle del Cauca, department that has as capital Cali, has been frequent target of attacks in recent months.

On June 10, the responsibility of a wave of explosions and armed attacks in Cali that resulted in seven dead was also attributed to EMC.

Another 12 attacks occurred in the neighboring department of Cauca, dying 8 people.

In this region of the country several dissidents of the FARC, features heirs of paramilitarism and the ELN converge.

All groups that dispute territorial control and maintain an armed struggle between them and against the Colombian State.

Cali is the third most populous city in Colombia, with around 2.2 million inhabitants.

Hours before the explosions in Cali, the police general, Carlos Fernando Triana, had described as “terrorist action” the demolition of the police helicopter and the attack against other troops.

According to Triana, these actions were “against a personnel component that fulfilled land sprinkler work of illicit crops and against an aircraft of the institution.”

In Amalfi, Antioquia, they also operate dissidents of the FARC and the self -denominated Gaitanist army of Colombia (EGC), better known as the Gulf clan.

The attack on the helicopter and the agents was attributed to EGC by the Minister of Defense, Pedro Sánchez, while President Petro linked him to the Dissidencies of the FARC.

The Petro government, which will end its mandate in August 2026, has maintained peace negotiations with several armed groups, including EGC, dissidents of the FARC and the ELN, although the latter are suspended.

While these conversations happen, experts consulted by BBC Mundo point out that several armed groups have “reinforced in recent times”, especially in territorial control and illicit economies.

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