Car Bomb and Helicopter Attack Kill 17 in Colombia Amid Rising Violence

A car bomb and a separate attack on a police helicopter in Colombia killed at least 17 people Thursday, authorities said, as President Gustavo Petro attributed the assaults to dissidents of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

At least 12 police officers died in the helicopter attack, which occurred while the aircraft was transporting personnel to an area in Antioquia in northern Colombia to eradicate coca leaf crops, the raw material used to produce cocaine. Petro initially reported eight officers dead, but Antioquia Gov. Andrés Julián later confirmed that four more officers died, while three others remain injured.

The governor said on X that a drone attacked the helicopter as it flew over coca leaf fields. Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that preliminary information suggested the attack caused a fire in the aircraft.

Meanwhile, in the southwest city of Cali, authorities reported that a vehicle loaded with explosives detonated near a military aviation school, killing five people and injuring more than 30. The Colombian air force did not immediately provide further details about the explosion.

Petro initially blamed the Gulf Clan, the country’s largest active drug cartel, for the helicopter attack, suggesting it was retaliation for a cocaine seizure linked to the group. However, he later attributed both attacks to FARC dissidents. The president said an alleged member of the dissident faction was arrested near the site of the explosion.

FARC dissidents, who rejected a 2016 peace deal with the government, and members of the Gulf Clan both operate in Antioquia, where coca cultivation continues to expand. According to the latest U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime report, coca leaf cultivation reached a record 253,000 hectares in Colombia in 2023.