Colombia’s new political era began under a cloud of smoke on Saturday when a car bomb exploded at a toll station in Santander de Quilichao, in the country’s troubled southwest.
The explosion struck the Pan-American Highway, a crucial transport route linking the departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca. Two security guards suffered minor injuries, while the toll plaza and surrounding infrastructure were heavily damaged.
According to an initial witness account, an unidentified person abandoned the vehicle before escaping on a motorcycle. Shortly afterwards, the car erupted with enough force to scatter burned metal across the road and break windows in nearby homes.
Families living only metres from the toll station were jolted awake by the blast. Residents described being thrown from their beds by the pressure wave, while flying glass reportedly injured members of at least one household containing several children.
Soldiers secured the highway and deployed trained dogs to search the surrounding area for additional explosives. The operation temporarily disrupted movement along one of southwestern Colombia’s most important roads.
The Colombian army attributed the bombing to two dissident factions that rejected the historic peace agreement signed between the government and the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The groups had not publicly responded to that accusation at the time of reporting.
The timing made the attack especially alarming. President Abelardo de la Espriella had been inaugurated in nearby Cali only a day earlier, promising a tougher response to illegal armed organisations. His administration also transferred 117 prisoners associated with earlier peace negotiations to maximum-security facilities on Saturday.
Authorities are investigating whether the bombing was a direct message to the new president, an attempt to isolate Cauca or part of a broader campaign to control territory and transport routes. What is already clear is that Colombia’s new government has encountered its first major security crisis before completing its first full weekend in office.
