At least 13 people have been killed and numerous others injured in two different incidents that occurred in Colombia on the same day. This is the most recent in a string of armed group terrorism that has occurred throughout the nation this year, leaving Colombians to fear a return to the country's more violent past.
In Cali, the third-largest city in Colombia, a truck bomb exploded Thursday close to a military camp, killing at least five people and injuring dozens more. Videos of wounded victims and debris scattered on the ground close to a burning car were posted on social media.
Earlier in the day, a drone in the Antioquia region's rural Amalfi area brought down a police helicopter involved in an anti-narcotics operation. At least eight police officers lost their lives, while another eight were hurt. The helicopter seems to have been helping to manually eliminate coca, the base plant from which cocaine is made.
Colombian officials attributed the violence to two distinct factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a demobilized rebel organization, though it is yet unclear which groups are behind the attacks. Although the FARC agreed to a historic peace agreement in 2016, some members of the party rejected the terms, and others later resumed violence.
Due to the leftist government of Gustavo Petro's failed attempts to negotiate peace with armed groups throughout the nation, Colombia has experienced some of its worst bloodshed since the peace accords since the beginning of this year. Promises of a "total peace" plan helped elect Petro, the nation's first Marxist president and a former guerrilla member. However, those negotiations have fallen through, and attacks by various armed groups have increased.
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