At Least 14 Killed in Highway Bomb Attack in Southwestern Colombia Ahead of Presidential Election

At least 14 people were killed and 38 others injured in a highway bomb attack in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, underscoring a surge in violence just weeks ahead of the country's presidential election. The bomb detonated after assailants brought traffic to a halt, using a bus and another vehicle to block the road. Authorities said the blast occurred in the conflict-hit Cauca department, a coca-growing region long plagued by unrest, and blamed dissident factions of the now-disbanded FARC guerrilla group for the attack, as cited by AFP. "Those who carried out this attack... are terrorists, fascists and drug traffickers. I want our very best soldiers to confront them," President Gustavo Petro said through a post on X. The president attributed the attack to Iván Mordisco, Colombia's most-wanted fugitive, drawing parallels between him and slain drug lord Pablo Escobar. "As of now, we report 14 people dead and more than 38 injured, including five minors," Cauca Governor Octavio Guzman announced Saturday night on X. A police source said rescue teams were continuing to search for several people reported missing. The explosion on the Pan-American Highway tore through buses and vans, overturning multiple vehicles and gouging a massive crater into the roadway. Bodies of victims lay amid the wreckage, covered with sheets as emergency crews worked at the scene. The bombing is the latest in a wave of attacks targeting public infrastructure, with at least 26 incidents reported across southwestern Colombia in the past two days, as cited by AP. These include a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundí and an assault on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities earlier intercepted and neutralised three explosives-laden drones on Saturday. Authorities have stepped up military and police deployments across affected areas, defence minister Pedro Sánchez said on Saturday. Colombia has long grappled with armed groups that fund their operations through drug trafficking, illegal mining and extortion, and often seek to sway elections through violence. Dissident factions of the FARC, which rejected the 2016 peace accord, have also been accused of attempting to derail stalled peace efforts under President Gustavo Petro. Security has emerged as a central issue ahead of the May 31 presidential election, with political violence returning to the spotlight last June when conservative frontrunner Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot in broad daylight while campaigning in the capital, Bogotá.