Colombia: Highway Blast Kills At Least 21

Colombia Highway Blast Kills At Least 21, Insurgents Blamed COLOMBIA Colombia A powerful bomb blast on a highway in Colombia killed at least 21 people and injured 56 others over the weekend, with authorities accusing guerrilla insurgents of the attack ahead of next month’s presidential elections. The explosion occurred Saturday on the Pan-American Highway in the southwestern Cauca department, a region long affected by armed conflict. Authorities said attackers blocked traffic using a bus and another vehicle before detonating an explosive device, leaving a crater more than 7,000 cubic feet in size. Security officials described the incident as a “terrorist attack” and called it Cauca’s “most brutal and ruthless attack against the civilian population in decades.” President Gustavo Petro blamed the bombing on Iván Mordisco, the alias used by Colombia’s most-wanted criminal and leader of a dissident faction of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Mordisco’s group operates in the southwestern region and is involved in illegal mining, extortion and drug trafficking. On Saturday, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez accused “Marlon” – a rebel leader affiliated with Mordisco’s group – of orchestrating the attack and offered a $1.4 million reward for information leading to his capture. The attack follows a series of recent incidents in the Cauca region, including a bomb attack on a military base in the city of Cali on Friday. The violence comes a little more than a month before the May 31 presidential election, when voters will choose a successor to Petro. Security has become a central issue in the campaign, particularly after the assassination last year of conservative frontrunner Miguel Uribe Turbay. Left-wing Sen. Iván Cepeda, a key figure behind Petro’s policy of negotiating with armed groups, currently leads in the polls. He is followed by right-wing candidates Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia, both of whom have pledged a tougher approach to rebel groups. Police have increased protection for the three leading candidates after they received death threats.