Description: Two separate attacks related to dissident groups pertaining to the dissolved Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) narco – terrorist group were conducted in the city of Cali and the region of Antioquia. The first attack targeted Colombia’s Aerospace Defense Department and aviation academy, where a vehicle packed with explosives left more than 10 people dead and up to 71 injured. The second attack in Antioquia was conducted using a suicide drone which managed to down a police helicopter providing assistance to ground forces eradicating coca plantations. Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, attributed the attacks to the 36th Front of the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), dissident group of the former FARC, and announced the government’s intent to proclaim the dissidents as a terrorist group subjected to global prosecution. The attacks arrived after the violent upscale related to cartel operations in Jun which targeted presidential candidate Miguel Uribe who recently succumbed to the injuries inflicted in the assassination attempt.
Impact: Former and present militant groups in collusion with the drug cartels have exponentially escalated the targeting and armed operations against the Colombian government in recent months. President Gustavo Petro in Jan abandoned the peace talks with Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN), a militant group fighting over dominance for access to key drug trading and transportation routes predominantly in the Catatumbo region. The following months Colombia experienced a gradual escalation in violence and attacks attributed to groups similar to the ELN which also precipitated the cartels to take action as dissident groups and larger cartel organizations, such as the Gulf Clan, engaged in power struggles over territory vital to drug trade in the country. The security situation in Colombia is alarming and is expected to further escalate as the government intensifies efforts to combat militant and cartel violence in the upcoming period.