dissident farc guerrillas

A deadly highway bomb attack in Colombia's Cauca region has killed 14 and injured 38. The blast occurred as assailants blocked the road. Authorities blame FARC dissidents. This violence escalates security concerns just weeks before the presidential election. The attack follows a wave of incidents targeting public infrastructure across southwestern Colombia.

Ecuador's president declared three days of national mourning starting Saturday over the deaths of 11 soldiers who the army said were killed by dissident farc guerrillas in an ambush near the Colombian border. "We will find those responsible and we will finish them off," Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa said on social media platform X. The national mourning period in honor of the slain soldiers will run through Monday, according to the presidency.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on his country's public television that the military had clashed with an armed group from Colombia, without giving further details.

The United States on Tuesday announced it has removed the former rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia from its list of terrorist organizations.

Six soldiers lost their lives in rural Colombia after entering a minefield during clashes with rebels. The groups involved, ELN and EMC, have rejected the 2016 peace agreement. President Petro expressed condolences to the soldiers' families. The country continues to struggle with violence and ceasefire violations.

Colombia said Monday it has strengthened security around the city of Cali, which hosts a global biodiversity summit starting next week, following threats from a guerrilla group at war with the government. Cali, the nearest big city to the EMC-dominated territory, will host the COP16 conference from October 21 to November 1.

A series of 24 coordinated bombings and gun attacks in southwestern Colombia have resulted in at least seven deaths and 28 injuries. Authorities suspect dissident farc guerrillas, specifically the Central General Staff (EMC), are responsible for the attacks targeting police posts and civilian areas.

Colombia experienced a surge of violence as a police helicopter was downed in Antioquia during a coca eradication operation, resulting in the death of eight officers. Simultaneously, a car bomb exploded outside a military aviation school in Cali, claiming five lives and injuring over thirty.