MADRID, 22 (EUROPA PRESS)
At least six people have died and 65 have been injured in a bomb attack carried out Thursday near a military base in Cali, western Colombia, local authorities reported.
The Cali mayor's office has confirmed this toll and has ordered the "militarization" of the town, in the words of its councilor, Alejandro Éder, who has offered a reward of up to 400 million pesos (more than 85,400 euros) in exchange for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators of the car bomb attack near the Marco Fidel Suárez Air Base, around 2:50 p.m. (local time).
Subsequently, Colombian President Gustavo Petro—who traveled to the municipality with other members of the government to participate in a Security Council meeting convened by the mayor—announced the arrest of a member of the Central General Staff (EMC), one of the dissident groups of the defunct FARC guerrilla group, who allegedly participated in the attack.
"This is one of the alleged perpetrators of the truck bomb attack in Cali, captured by the community at the scene. He is alias 'Sebastián' and belongs to the EMC structures, led by alias 'Marlon', subordinate to the Drug Trafficking Board," he stated on his social media account X, attaching two photographs of the arrested man.
Hours earlier, the president had already targeted FARC dissidents in what he described as a "terrorist reaction" to the defeats inflicted on 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 lamented, vowing to pursue these groups as "terrorist organizations."
In this regard, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez noted that Colombian authorities are offering a reward of 3.3 billion pesos (650 euros) for 'Marlon' and 1.65 billion pesos (350 euros) for alias 'Kevin,' another leader of the group whom he also blamed for the attack in Cali.
For its part, the Colombian Prosecutor's Office has also announced on social media that two men have been brought before it for these events. "In the coming hours, these two individuals will be brought before a judge, while investigative activities continue to identify the criminal organization responsible for this terrorist act," it stated, pointing to a "possible perpetrator within the Jaime Martínez group of the FARC dissidents."
