Ca
bomb
hits
Colombia’s
southwest
as
ew
P eside t
Abela do
de
la
Esp iella
takes
cha ge
A
ca
bomb
exploded
Satu day
at
a
toll
plaza
i
southweste
Colombia,
the
a my
said,
a
day
afte
co se vative
political
ewcome
Abela do
de
la
Esp iella
was
swo
i
as
the
cou t y’s
ew
p eside t.The
a my
blamed
the
attack
o
two
disside t
g oups
of
the
ow-defu ct
Revolutio a y
A med
Fo ces
of
Colombia
(FARC),
which
ejected
the
peace
ag eeme t
the
gue illa
g oup
sig ed
with
the
Colombia
gove me t
a
decade
ago.The
blast
took
place
at
a
toll
plaza
o
the
Pa -Ame ica
Highway,
a
key
oad
li ki g
Colombia’s
southweste
egio s.
Two
secu ity
gua ds
suffe ed
mi o
i ju ies,
acco di g
to
the
a my.
O e
of
the
gua ds
told
autho ities
that
the
explosio
was
caused
by
a
vehicle
aba do ed
at
the
site
by
a
pe so
who
fled
o
a
moto cycle.The
affected
st etch
of
highway
co ects
the
depa tme ts
of
Cauca
a d
Valle
del
Cauca,
whose
capital,
Cali,
hosted
de
la
Esp iella’s
i augu atio
o
F iday.
I
his
i augu al
add ess,
the
ew
p eside t
laid
out
his
secu ity
policy
a d
wa ed
a med
g oups
that
“they
have
two
paths:
submit
to
the
ule
of
law
o
co f o t
the
secu ity
fo ces.”O
Satu day,
the
a my
said
soldie s
had
secu ed
the
a ea
a d
deployed
t ai ed
dogs
to
sea ch
fo
a y
additio al
explosives.
Pa ts
of
the
vehicle,
i cludi g
its
cha ed
chassis,
we e
scatte ed
a ou d
the
toll
plaza.The
blast
woke
families
livi g
just
met es
f om
the
sce e.
Elizabeth
Zapata,
57,
said
the
fo ce
of
the
explosio
“lift
them
out
of
bed”
a d
shatte ed
the
wi dows
of
ea by
homes.
He
family,
which
i cludes
seve al
child e ,
“a ived
with
sha ds
of
glass
embedded
i
thei
backs.”Cauca
Gove o
Jo ge
Octavio
Guzmá
said
he
believed
the
attacks
we e
aimed
at
isolati g
the
depa tme t
a d
allowi g
a med
g oups
to
mai tai
co t ol
ove
thousa ds
of
hecta es.“This
is
ot
a
isolated
i cide t;
it
is
systematic,”
he
said.T a spo tatio
Mi iste
Elsa
Nogue a
co dem ed
the
attack
a d
said
effo ts
we e
u de way
to
esto e
t affic
alo g
the
affected
oute.“Colombia
will
ot
k eel
befo e
viole ce,
o
will
it
allow
the
dest uctio
of
the
i f ast uctu e
that
co ects
ou
egio s,”
she
w ote
o
social
media.Doze s
of
p iso e s
t a sfe ed
to
maximum-secu ity
p iso sAlso
o
Satu day,
de
la
Esp iella
a ou ced
the
t a sfe
of
117
p iso e s
li ked
to
peace
talks
u de
the
p evious
admi ist atio
to
eight
maximum-secu ity
p iso s.Acco di g
to
the
cou t y’s
co ectio s
age cy,
the
move
is
i te ded
to
“ egai
pe ma e t
co t ol
of
the
p iso s”
a d
“co tai
a y
capacity
of
c imi al
o ga izatio s”
to
coo di ate
illicit
activities
f om
i side
p iso s.De
la
Esp iella
has
ejected
the
dialogue
with
a med
g oups
pu sued
by
his
p edecesso ,
Gustavo
Pet o.The
48-yea -old
lawye
a d
busi essma ,
who
had
o
p io
political
expe ie ce,
a owly
defeated
p og essive
se ato
a d
Pet o
ally
Ivá
Cepeda
i
a
Ju e
u off
electio
held
agai st
the
backd op
of
a
deeply
pola ised
political
climate.His
p eside cy
begi s
with
a
st o g
oppositio
led
by
Pet o,
who
efused
to
ecog ise
de
la
Esp iella’s
victo y
a d
alleged
electo al
f aud
despite
the
official
decla atio
by
Colombia’s
electo al
autho ity
a d
favou able
assessme ts
f om
i te atio al
obse ve s.
