After on Saturday, March 26, the 33rd front of the Farc dissidents detonated a bomb in the Police CAI of Ciudad Bolívar that left two minors dead and 39 injuredthe mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, and the commander of the Mebog, General Eliécer Camacho, said that what happened in the city is a clear threat to the national security of the country and asked President Iván Duque to activate seven security measures to shield the country’s capital from terrorist acts.
(You may be interested: ‘Whoever detonated the bomb in the CAI knew that there were children there’)
Mayor López emphatically condemned the FARC dissidents as solely responsible for this criminal act. “They are cowardly and miserable murderers who placed and detonated 20 to 25 kilos of explosives behind the CAI of Arborizadora Alta, with full knowledge and intent to harm civilians in the middle of a popular neighborhood, in an area surrounded by a park, three schools and shops”.
In the same way, he requested seven clear actions from the National government:
1. Strengthen military intelligence actions on the actions of these groups
criminals from the FARC dissidents responsible for the attack.
2. Assign military and police reinforcements at all entrances and exits of Bogotá
Region, especially in the south of the city.
3. Order a shield protection plan for the city, its population and assets
strategic.
The Mayor’s Office declares three days of district mourning to commemorate the victims of this cowardly act.
4. Assign exclusive teams from Dipol, Dijin, Diase (anti-kidnapping and anti-extortion) and dedicated prosecutors to break up and capture members of the FARC dissidents.responsible for the attack.
5. Order all telecommunications companies and other entities that can contribute information to the investigations to deliver it as quickly as possible to the intelligence and judicial investigation teams.
6. Arrange the necessary resources so that The National Victims Unit registers, characterizes and compensates the victims of this attack.
7. Reinforce the surveillance, patrolling and investigation capabilities of the Police
Metropolitana de la Sabana and the Metropolitana de Bogotá to coordinate with the
shield plan that is available for the city region, in particular for Ciudad Bolívar,
especially vulnerable locality and victimized by the operation of these
criminal organizations and attacks.
In the same way, the president declared three days of district mourning to commemorate the lives of the deceased.
I emphatically condemn the FARC dissidents, who are solely responsible for the terrorist attack in Ciudad Bolívar in which 2 innocent children died. Cowards and murderers who detonated explosives with full knowledge and intention to harm civilians in a popular neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/KKV0ZBzJux
– Claudia López Hernández (@ClaudiaLopez) March 28, 2022
Background
Although the mayor of Bogotá had assured during the first attack that occurred on March 5 at the Sierra Morena Police Station, in Ciudad Bolívar, that “In Bogotá there was no physical presence or permanent operation of armed groups from the Colombian conflict or residual groups”the truth is that on this occasion the president confirmed that although there is no evidence of their presence, it can be concluded that they are capable of affecting the city with plans orchestrated from other parts of the national territory.
According to Lopez’s statements, the Ministry of Defense, on two occasions during 2021, would have notified Bogotá that it was not under threat and that there was no presence of armed groups in the city that could put security at risk.
However, in the attack of March 5, the commander of the Bogotá Police, Eliécer Camacho, had already said that among the first hypotheses was the possibility that residual groups (Gaor), through local criminal structures, were the perpetrators of the attackwhich at that time, did not claim the life of anyone but that set off the security alarms in the capital.
For now, both the district and national authorities have offered rewards for those who help find the whereabouts of alias “Jhon Mechas” allegedly responsible for the attack and, Claudia López, asked the Government of Venezuela to identify, capture and extradite any member of the residual group Front 33 of the Farc dissidents to answer for this cowardly and criminal attack.
To the criminals of the Farc E-33 dissidents, headed by Javier Alonso Veloza García, alias ‘John Mechas’, who in a cynical and repudiable manner attribute the terrorist act against the CAI of Arborizadora Alta in Bogotá, we assure you: they will fall and answer before the law. pic.twitter.com/DFp13lsc4g
– General Jorge Luis Vargas Valencia (@DirectorPolicia) March 28, 2022