18 Dead In Colombia: Police Helicopter Downed By Drone, Car Bomb Rocks Cali

Colombia Helicopter Downed: At least 18 people have been killed and dozens more injured in two separate attacks in Colombia, both attributed to dissident factions of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).  

In Cali, the country’s third-largest city, a vehicle packed with explosives detonated on Thursday near a military aviation school. The explosion killed six people and injured 71, according to the mayor’s office.  

Police Helicopter Downed by Drone in Antioquia  

Earlier on the same day, a National Police Black Hawk helicopter involved in a coca leaf crop eradication operation was shot down by a drone in the municipality of Amalfi, located in the Antioquia department. The incident killed 12 police officers.  

President Gustavo Petro blamed the attacks on dissident factions of the now-defunct FARC, which rejected a 2016 peace agreement aimed at ending a decades-long internal conflict that has claimed over 450,000 lives in Colombia.  

Helicopter Targeted During Coca Eradication Mission  

Petro said on X that the helicopter was transporting personnel to northern Antioquia for coca leaf eradication when the attack occurred. Antioquia Governor Andrés Julián confirmed on social media that a drone struck the helicopter while it was flying over coca fields.  

Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez added that preliminary reports indicate the attack caused a fire in the police helicopter.  

Gulf Clan Blamed For Attack

Initially, President Petro blamed the Gulf Clan, Colombia’s largest active drug cartel, claiming the attack on the helicopter was retaliation for a cocaine seizure allegedly linked to the group.  

Later, Petro shared a photo of a suspect detained in connection with the car bomb attack near the Colombian Aerospace Force in Cali. He stated that the individual is a member of the EMC (Estado Mayor Central), a federation of FARC dissidents, and described them as “subordinate” to drug traffickers.  

FARC dissidents and Gulf Clan members are both known to operate in the Antioquia region. Petro announced plans to request that both the Gulf Clan and armed dissidents be “considered terrorists and pursued anywhere on the planet.”  

Surge in Coca Cultivation Fuels Violence in Colombia

Colombia is experiencing a dramatic surge in violence less than a decade after the 2016 peace deal. A key driver of this rising violence is the lucrative drug trade. Coca leaf cultivation, the raw material for cocaine, reached a record 253,000 hectares (about 625,000 acres) in 2023, according to the latest United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report.  

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