International • • • 🌿 Progressive

Una patrulla junto a un puente en una carretera de montaña verde con tres agentes de espaldas vigilando la vía.
Vigilancia policial en un puente de una carretera de montaña. · Imagen generada EPM

Attacks in Valle, Cauca and Santander leave three police officers hurt

A series of attacks this Saturday in Valle del Cauca, Cauca and Santander left three police officers wounded, a bodyguard dead, a bridge damaged with more than…

--- The context --- A sharp escalation of violence shook the country this Saturday, with attacks against the security forces in Valle del Cauca, Cauca and Santander that left multiple people wounded, extensive material damage and a direct impact on road infrastructure. --- The facts --- On Saturday afternoon, in the village of La Yunga, in southwestern Popayán, armed men presumed to belong to the ELN intercepted a collection vehicle of the company Urbaser near the Los Picachos landfill. They forced the driver to get out and set the truck on fire, with graffiti alluding to the ELN. That morning, an explosive device detonated in Montebello, on the road to the Cerro de las Tres Cruces, in rural Cali, against a National Police patrol: it left three police officers wounded, taken to Clínica Imbanaco, and a second charge was neutralized at the same point. In Santander de Quilichao, an attack preliminarily attributed to the Jaime Martínez structure damaged the La Teta bridge with improvised explosives and left more than 200 families cut off, with their mobility completely restricted. In Jamundí, armed men intercepted the vehicle of former mayor Andrés Felipe Ramírez, who was unharmed, while his bodyguard died trying to protect him. On the Málaga–Cerrito road, in Santander, armed men intercepted a bus, forced passengers and the driver to get off under death threats and set the vehicle on fire, with no people wounded. --- The positions --- Cali mayor Alejandro Eder condemned the Montebello attack and announced 20 million pesos in reward money for information on those responsible. The Government of Valle del Cauca and the Jamundí mayor's office offered a joint reward of up to 150 million pesos for the authors of the Jamundí attack. Major Douglas Arenas rejected what happened and explained indirectly that two subjects with a handgun made the bus occupants get off and then set the vehicle on fire. --- What remains unknown --- The attributions are presumed or preliminary; the authors of the Jamundí attack and the burned bus are unidentified. The condition of the officers at Clínica Imbanaco is unknown, as is when passage over the La Teta bridge will be restored. --- Unanswered questions --- Who were the authors of the attack against former mayor Andrés Felipe Ramírez in Jamundí? When will the more than 200 families affected by the La Teta bridge recover their mobility? Will the rewards announced in Cali and Jamundí produce results? Will protection for patrols and road corridors be reinforced? --- EPM analysis --- The simultaneity strikes at the security forces, road infrastructure and everyday services such as waste collection and transport. When a bridge is put out of service, rural mobility and access to basic services are interrupted, multiplying the human cost of each attack. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the response to this escalation should be measured by verifiable results and not only by announcements, because the cut-off families, the wounded officers and the affected travelers need effective security on the corridors and in their municipalities. The rewards of 20 million pesos in Cali and of up to 150 million pesos in Jamundí will only have value if they lead to captures and to sustained protection of road infrastructure, while each attack is clarified with firm attributions and not merely preliminary ones.
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