Car Bomb Hits Colombia Just After Hardline New President Takes Office
Al Jazeera Staff
A car bomb attack in southwestern Colombia on August 8, one day after hardline President Abelardo de la Espriella took office, wounded two guards. The government has pledged a strong response, vowing to restore order and security.
On August 8, Colombian authorities confirmed a car bomb attack in the country's southwest, just one day after right-wing lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in as president. The military blamed Saturday's attack on two armed groups that split from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a former rebel group that demobilized after a 2016 peace deal with the government.
The explosion targeted a toll booth on the Pan-American Highway in the coastal province of Cauca. Two security guards were reported lightly injured. A witness said the attacker left the vehicle at the scene and fled on a motorcycle.
The administration of President de la Espriella quickly vowed a strong response to the bombing. Transportation Minister Elsa Noguera wrote on social media: “Colombia will not bow to violence, nor will it allow the destruction of infrastructure that connects our regions.” She also echoed the president's inaugural speech, in which he pledged to “defeat narco-terrorism” and crack down on crime. Noguera added: “As President Abelardo de la Espriella said yesterday, the time to restore order has begun. We will bring back security, territorial control, and peace for Colombians.”
The new president, who took office on Friday, campaigned on a promise to suppress armed groups in Colombia. The country has endured more than six decades of internal armed conflict involving right-wing paramilitaries, left-wing rebels, government forces, and criminal networks. Colombia is also the world's largest producer of coca, the raw material for cocaine and traditional Andean remedies.
De la Espriella, a political newcomer, joins a wave of right-wing leaders in Latin America who have successfully tapped into voter concerns about crime and insecurity to win elections. However, he may face major challenges in addressing these deep-rooted issues within his four-year term, as Colombia's constitution prevents presidents from seeking re-election.
De la Espriella defeated leftist rival Senator Ivan Cepeda in a June runoff by less than one percentage point. The right-wing leader has vowed to end the “Total Peace” policy of his predecessor, former President Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first leftist leader since 2022. Petro's “Total Peace” plan relied on promoting dialogue with armed groups, though he also used military force.
In contrast, de la Espriella has pledged to return Colombia to a more militarized approach, saying in his inaugural speech that the option of dialogue was “exhausted.” He has received support from U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration has promised $1 billion in security aid after a period of strained relations with Petro. The Trump administration has sought to expand U.S. military involvement across Latin America in the name of fighting crime and drug trafficking, while encouraging right-wing leaders in the region to adopt tougher measures.
De la Espriella, for instance, has promised to bomb ships and aircraft suspected of illegally transporting drugs, following a similar campaign that Trump has pursued in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific. However, these tactics have raised concerns from human rights groups, who warn about the potential for abuse by government forces.
