Two explosions were reported near the Marco Fidel Suárez Air Base in Cali, which were attributed to a possible terrorist attack.
The incident, which occurred at 2:50 p.m. on Thursday, August 21, took passersby by surprise, as it is a particularly busy commercial area monitored by air base personnel.
The Colombian Air Force confirmed that the attack left six people dead, one of them a nine-year-old child, and at least 42 injured, although the figures may change as the hours pass.
According to reports, a truck loaded with explosives was abandoned in front of the base's main entrance, in an area with a constant presence of military guards and a regular flow of businesses and pedestrians. Witness videos show that a truck with gas cylinders was left behind by the perpetrators, but it failed to explode.
"At this time, work is underway to verify damage to facilities and personnel, in addition to an investigation to determine the causes and perpetrators of this terrorist act, which threatens the civilian population and the lives of the men and women who serve Colombians through the FAC," the Colombian Aerospace Force said in a statement on its official accounts.
Cali Mayor Alejandro Éder announced through his X account that teams from the Health, Safety, and Risk Secretariats are already in action to care for the injured.
At the same time, authorities have sent air reinforcements, and dozens of officers are trying to control the area and assist those affected.
Preliminary reports about the motive suggest that the new attack could have been a response or retaliation by FARC dissidents to the military operations carried out in the Micay Canyon sector, in the southwest of the country.
According to reports from the Army and the National Police, the attacks are targeting government infrastructure and busy urban areas as a way to demonstrate their ability to cause damage and generate fear among the population.
This isn't the first such attack to occur in Cali this year. On June 10, the capital of Valle del Cauca had to deal with three almost simultaneous explosions at different police stations and neighborhoods, leaving more than 70 people injured.
These attacks were attributed to the Jaime Martínez Beltrán Front, a dissident group derived from the former FARC guerrilla group. Since then, there have been increased checkpoints, security forces, and emergency operations in the city.
Among the first to speak out against the attack was Senator María Fernanda Cabal of the Democratic Center, who on her X account attacked Gustavo Petro's government."This is terrorism in its full capacity against a state incapable of protecting its citizens," she stated.
Petro himself referred to the attack on his social networks, confirming that the attack was a response to the operations in the Micay Canyon against the Carlos Patiño column. “Terrorism is the new expression of the factions that claim to be led by Iván Mordisco, and that have subordinated themselves to the control of the drug trafficking junta”, he said.
The Cabal itself was quick to respond to Petro."That's not 'reaction,' it's unbridled terrorism while you look the other way. Your duty is to protect the country, not justify criminals," it retorted on X.
The governor of Valle del Cauca, Dilian Francisca Toro, sent a message of unity to the people of Valle del Cauca, affirming that the authorities are doing everything in their power to confront terrorism.
“Terrorism will not defeat us, with more strength and more determination, I call on us to unite and confront it,”he said.
