The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, called for an Extraordinary Security Council meeting following two attacks in the country that left at least 18 dead, including police officers and civilians: a police helicopter was hit by a drone in Amalfi, Antioquia department, and a car bomb exploded near a military base in Cali.
PUBLICIDAD
According to Publimetro Colombia, the reason for the meeting called by Petro is to declare a state of internal commotion.
PUBLICIDAD
The state of internal commotion is an exceptional measure contemplated in the Constitution of Colombia. It allows the president to assume special and temporary powers to address situations that seriously disrupt public order and put at risk the security of citizens or state institutions.
How was the attack on a helicopter in Antioquia?
In northwest Colombia, a National Police helicopter in Antioquia was attacked this morning with explosive drones during a coca crop eradication operation, leaving at least 12 officers dead and several others injured.
President Petro attributed the attack to the 36th Front of the Central High Command (EMC), dissidents of the FARC, and later authorities identified Óscar Javier Cuadros Zea, alias “Chejo” or “Alejandro”, as the leader of this group.
On the other hand, Minister of Defense Pedro Sánchez blamed the Gulf Clan, which he described as "a drug trafficking and terror cartel," and promised that it “will be confronted with all the force of the State.”
The Police director, Carlos Fernando Triana Beltrán, described the action as a “terrorist act” and stated that security forces will continue to fight “against these criminals who are currently mourning an entire country”.
Meanwhile, authorities are looking for a way to access the location where the attack occurred to evacuate the murdered police officers. The troops of the Seventh Division of the Army have fired warning shots to clear the way, but the terrain is highly dangerous due to the presence of explosives set up by the criminal group and drones used to monitor the movements of the security forces.
How was the attack on a military base in Cali?
Near the Marco Fidel Suárez Air Base in Cali, around 2:50 pm, the Colombian Aerospace Force reported a car bomb explosion resulting in at least six deaths, all civilians, as reported by Petro.
“After the defeat suffered by the Carlos Patiño column with the loss of a good part of the Micay cannon, we have a terrorist reaction in Cali... Terrorism is the new expression of the factions claiming to be led by Iván Mordisco, and who have submitted to the control of the Narcotics Board," said the president of Colombia on social media.
Then Petro said that alias “Sebastián” was captured, one of the alleged perpetrators of the attack, who would belong to part of the EMC, “led by alias Marlon, subordinate to the Drug Trafficking Board”.
On the other hand, the mayor of Cali, Alejandro Éder, said that he had ordered the “militarization” of the city and the reinforcement of the police at the entrances and exits of the capital of Valle del Cauca.