Colombia Blames Deadly Bogota Car Bombing On ELN Rebels

The Colombian government on Friday blamed leftist ELN rebels for the car bomb that killed 21 people at a Bogota police cadet training academy. … Continue reading Colombia Blames Deadly Bogota Car Bombing On ELN Rebels

By Ignatius Igwe

Updated January 18, 2019

Colombian Attorney General Nestor Humberto Martinez (L) attends a press conference given by President Ivan Duque (R) at a police academy in Bogota, after a car bomb attack in the academy left at least nine people dead and 54 injured, on January 17, 2019. Nine people were killed Thursday and more than 50 wounded in a car bomb attack on a police cadet training academy in the Colombian capital Bogota. The defense ministry said the “terrorist act” — using a vehicle packed with around 175 pounds (80 kilograms) of explosives — was the country’s worst since a peace accord was signed with FARC rebels more than a year ago. Juan BARRETO / AFP

Security forces work at the site of an apparent car bomb attack on a police cadet training school in Bogota, that left at least four people dead and 10 injured on January 17, 2019. JUAN BARRETO / AFP

The Colombian government on Friday blamed leftist ELN rebels for the car bomb that killed 21 people at a Bogota police cadet training academy.

Defense Minister Guillermo Botero, speaking from the presidential palace, described the Thursday bombing as “a terrorist attack committed by the ELN.”

Peace talks with the National Liberation Army, Colombia’s last major rebel group, broke down in 2018 under the former president Juan Manuel Santos.

AFP