Colombia rocked by two attacks leaving 13 dead as president labels armed groups ‘terrorists’

Colombia was rocked by two separate attacks Thursday that left at least 13 people dead and dozens injured.

In the western city of Cali, a vehicle bomb targeted the Marco Fidel Suarez Military Aviation School. Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said preliminary reports indicated that at least five people were killed and 36 were injured.

Eder announced a ban on large trucks entering the city, citing fears of additional explosions. The incident occurred weeks after three coordinated bomb attacks on June 10 left seven dead and more than 50 injured in the city.

The attack in Cali coincided with a separate incident in the northern department of Antioquia, where a police helicopter was downed by an explosive-laden drone. At least eight officers were killed and eight others injured, the government said.

The helicopter's mission was to transport personnel for coca crop eradication in the municipality of Amalfi, President Gustavo Petro said on the US social media company X’s platform.

"We have the unfortunate news of eight police officers dead and eight injured," he wrote.

“This is terrorism. What happened in Cali irradiates panic among civilians, and it is the second such event during my government,” Petro said, describing the acts as “crimes against humanity” that could fall under the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction.

At a land restitution event in Valledupar, Petro said government investigations had determined that the Clan del Golfo, the EMC faction of FARC dissidents led by Ivan Mordisco, and the Segunda Marquetalia form what he described as “the board of directors of narcotrafficking,” the Spanish news agency EFE reported.

“I have made a decision: these organizations must be considered terrorist groups, prosecutable anywhere in the world, including Bogota,” he said.

He emphasized the difference between fighting among armed groups and actions intentionally meant to terrorize civilians.

“Terrorists are those who instill fear in the civilian population. That is what we saw today in Cali and Amalfi,” he said, calling for a minute of silence for the victims.

Petro's initial social media post had linked the attack in Antioquia to the seizure of 1.5 tons of cocaine, blaming the Gulf Clan. However, he later attributed the attack to the 36th Front of the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), dissidents of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a leftist guerrilla group.

Antioquia Governor Andres Julian Rendon said on X that the helicopter was shot down while providing "security to uniformed officers carrying out manual coca crop eradication work."

According to official reports, the event took place in the Los Toros area within Amalfi municipality. The downed aircraft, a UH-60 Black Hawk, belonged to the National Police's Anti-Narcotics Directorate.

The attack began when the armed dissidents started shooting at police officers who were carrying out the eradication process. The officers then requested air support. As the helicopter arrived to assist them, it was struck by an explosive-laden drone, causing it to crash.

National Police Director Major General Carlos Fernando Triana Beltran described the incident as a "terrorist action" and confirmed that personnel had been deployed to the area to treat the wounded and continue operations.