Overview

• Authorities report 19 dead after Thursday’s violence, including six civilians in a truck-bomb blast near Cali’s Marco Fidel Suárez air base and 13 police officers in a separate drone strike that downed a helicopter in Antioquia.
• Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Operation Sultana and said the national Bloc de recherche will be reinforced with additional technology and intelligence to hunt those responsible.
• Officials attribute the Cali bombing to the Estado Mayor Central dissidents, while the helicopter attack near Medellín is blamed on the Calarcá/E36 faction linked to ex-FARC.
• Cali’s mayor restricted truck traffic and offered a $10,000 reward as images showed extensive damage, evacuations were ordered, and authorities said a second explosives-laden vehicle failed to detonate.
• Prosecutors reported two arrests tied to the Cali blast, including a suspect known as “Sebastian” described by authorities as an EMC member, as analysts warn the groups seek to stoke insecurity ahead of the 2026 election.