Colombia Highway Bombing Kills 14 Amid Wave of Attacks Ahead of Vote

At least 14 people were killed and 38 injured, including five children, in a bomb attack on the Pan-American Highway in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, April 25, 2026, according to regional authorities.

The explosion occurred in the El Túnel sector of Cajibío in the Cauca department, a region long affected by armed conflict and coca cultivation. Cauca Governor Octavio Guzmán confirmed the casualty figures in a post on X, stating that authorities received reports of additional violent incidents in nearby municipalities including El Tambo, Caloto, Popayán, Guachené, Mercaderes, and Miranda.

Guzmán described the attack as an “indiscriminate attack against the civilian population” and said Colombia’s Minister of Defense Pedro Sánchez was at the scene to help coordinate rescue efforts. Red Cross workers operated at the edge of the crater left by the blast, which mangled cars, trucks, and buses and scattered debris across the roadway.

General Hugo López Barreto, commander of Colombia’s Military Forces, characterized the violence as part of a “wave of attacks” across the region and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco,” one of the country’s most-wanted figures, and the Jaime Martínez faction. Authorities have attributed the bombing to dissidents of the former FARC guerrilla group.

President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on social media, calling those responsible “terrorists, fascists and drug traffickers” and pledging to deploy the nation’s best soldiers to confront them. He directly accused Ivan Mordisco of orchestrating the violence, comparing him to the late cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar.

The bombing took place ahead of Colombia’s presidential election scheduled for May 2026, contributing to a surge of violence in the southwestern region. Officials said they were initiating a national-level security council to address what Guzmán called a “terrorist escalation” demanding immediate responses.

Videos shared on social media and by the governor showed a deep crater in the highway, with ambulances on site and bodies of victims left on the ground amid the wreckage, covered in sheets. Rescue teams searched for several missing people following the blast.