Car bomb and attack on a helicopter in Colombia kill at least 13, including police officers

Bogota, Colombia (AP) – A car and a separate attack on a police helicopter in Colombia killed at least 13 people on Thursday, according to the authorities. President Gustavo Petro awarded the two incidents to dissidents of the revolutionary armed defectors in Colombia, commonly called FARC.

Petro said on X that eight police officers died during the attack on a helicopter and noted that the plane was carrying staff in an antioquia area in northern Colombia, to eradicate coca leave crops, the raw material for cocaine.

Antioquia Governor Andrés Julián said on the same social media platform as a drone had attacked the helicopter when he had flown over the coca leave cultures. The Colombian Minister of Defense, Pedro Sánchez, said that preliminary information indicates that the attack caused a fire on the plane.

The authorities did not immediately provide details on the conditions of the eight people injured in the attack.

Meanwhile, authorities in the southwest city of Cali reported that an explosive vehicle exploded near a military aviation school, killing five people and injuring more than 30 years. The Colombian aerospace force did not immediately provide additional details on the explosion.

Petro initially blamed the Gulf Clan, the largest active drug cartel in the country, for the attack on the helicopter. He said the plane had been targeted in retaliation for a cocaine crisis that belonged to the group.

FARC dissidents, who rejected a peace agreement with the government in 2016, and members of the Gulf Clan both operate in Antioquia.

The cultivation of coca leaves is increasing in Colombia. The cultivated area reached a record of 253,000 hectares in 2023, according to the latest report available to the United Nations on drugs and crime.

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