Bogotá car bomb: Colombia blames ELN rebels for deadly explosion Published 18 January 2019 image copyright Reuters image caption The explosion outside a police academy shocked the Colombian capital Colombia has blamed the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group for a car bomb attack that killed 21 people in the capital, Bogotá. Dozens more were injured in Thursday's blast after an explosives-laden vehicle broke into the grounds of a police academy before it detonated. The driver, who was also killed, has been identified as a 57-year-old man. President Ivan Duque put peace talks with the ELN on hold when he took power in 2018. Any restart to the negotiations is unlikely following the attack, the deadliest in the country in many years, correspondents say. What has the government said? The driver, named earlier as José Aldemar Rojas Rodríguez, was a long-time ELN member and the group's top explosives expert, Defence Minister Guillermo Botero said. The suspect, known by his war alias "El Mocho" or "Kiko", had lost his right hand in an accident with an explosive and was based in the northern department of Arauca, from where he frequently crossed into Venezuela. "This was an operation that has been planned for the past 10 months," Mr Botero said, adding that the guerrillas were the "intellectual authors" behind the driver's attack. A second man who had "participated" in the carrying out of the attack was arrested in Bogotá, Attorney General Néstor Humberto Martínez said. image copyright EPA image caption A vigil was held in Bogotá on Thursday to honour the victims President Duque, who visited the site of the explosion on Thursday, described the attack as a "crazy terrorist act". "We won't rest until we capture and bring to justice the terrorists involved," he said. "Colombians have never yielded to terrorism, we have always defeated it. This will not be an exception." Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace Miguel Ceballos said there would be "no space for dialogue with the ELN until they hand over all the kidnapped people and completely renounce their criminal acts." What do we know about the explosion? The grey Nissan Patrol entered the compound of the General Santander police academy in the south of Bogotá where a promotion ceremony for cadets was being held. When the car was stopped by guards at a checkpoint, the driver accelerated and hit a wall, at which point the vehicle exploded. The vehicle was carrying 80kg (176lb) of the powerful explosive pentolite, which has been used in the past by Colombia's rebel guerrilla groups. The blast at 09:30 local time (14:30 GMT) shattered windows of nearby buildings. image copyright EPA image caption The explosion happened outside a school for police cadets Twenty of the victims were police cadets aged between 17 and 22, Mr Botero said. At least 68 people were injured but the majority of those have since been discharged from hospital. Who are the ELN rebels? image copyright Getty Images image caption The group has been fighting the Colombian state for more than five decades The 2,000-strong guerrilla group was founded in 1964 to fight against Colombia's unequal distribution of land and riches, inspired by the Cuban revolution of 1959 Over the decades, the group has attacked large landholders and multinational companies, and repeatedly blown up oil pipelines To finance itself it has resorted to extortion, kidnappings and drug trafficking It has been strongest in rural areas What's the current situation in Colombia? Car bombs were not uncommon during the decades-long conflict between the Colombian government and left-wing rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). But an explosion of a car bomb of this size is something that has not happened in a long time in Bogotá and it took the city by surprise, BBC Mundo Colombia correspondent Boris Miranda reports. Colombia has significantly reduced bomb attacks and murders in recent years but the attack shows that it is a continuing fear for citizens, our correspondent adds. The Farc signed a peace agreement with the government in November 2016 and the group has since become a political party of the same name. The party's leader, Pastor Alape, condemned the attack., calling it a "provocation against the political way out of the conflict". Peace talks between the smaller ELN and the previous government of President Juan Manuel Santos stalled, and President Duque, who takes a more hardline approach to the group, has not resumed them. Related Topics Bogota Colombia<doc-sep>Bogota [Colombia], Jan 22 (ANI): Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) has claimed responsibility for the Bogota bomb explosion near the General Santander National Police Academy last week that left 21 dead and wounded 68. The group claimed that the attack was in retaliation for the government's bombings of its camps in spite of a ceasefire in place. "Therefore, the operation carried out against said establishment and troops is legal per the 'right of war'," CNN quoted ELN as stating. Furthermore, the militant group called for a meeting with a government delegation for peace talks, opining, "War is not the future for Colombia, it is peace". The driver of the explosive-laden vehicle has since been recognised as José Aldemar Rojas Rodríguez, who is one amongst the deceased. He reportedly rammed his vehicle, which carried explosives weighing around 80 kilograms, into the compound of the police academy at full speed and refused to stop despite being signalled to do so. The gruesome attack outside the police academy on January 17 was severely condemned by Colombian President Ivan Duque, who announced a three-day period of mourning while labelling the incident as a terrorist attack. (ANI)<doc-sep>Twenty-one people have been killed and dozens more injured in a car bombing at a Colombian police academy in Bogotá, recalling the high-profile attacks associated with the bloodiest chapters of the country’s guerrilla and drug conflicts.The scene outside the General Santander police academy was chaotic after the mid-morning explosion on Thursday, with ambulances and helicopters rushing to the normally tightly controlled facility. Witnesses said they heard a loud explosion that destroyed windows in adjacent buildings. Pictures on social media showed a charred vehicle surrounded by debris on the academy’s campus. Among the dead were a Panamanian and an Ecuadorian national. #Atención El alcalde @EnriquePenalosa se encuentra en la Escuela General Santander acompañando a la @PoliciaColombia. En breve entregaremos más información.#BogotáCondenaElTerrorismo pic.twitter.com/HBekT48yYi — Alcaldía de Bogotá (@Bogota) January 17, 2019 Rafael Trujillo said he was delivering a care package to his son Gerson, who entered the school two days ago, when he was stopped in his tracks by the blast a block away from the school’s heavily fortified entrance. “I’m sad and very worried because I don’t have any information about my son,” said Trujillo, standing outside the facility, where police officers had set up a taped perimeter. “This reminds me of some very sad days in the past.” President Iván Duque, who was visiting a western state, was rushing back to the capital to oversee the police investigation into what he called a “miserable” attack.“All of us Colombians reject terrorism and are united in confronting it,” Duque said in a tweet. “We won’t bend in the face of violence.”Investigators had identified the car’s driver as José Aldemar Rojas Rodríguez, who was among the dead, said the Colombian attorney general, Néstor Humberto Martínez. He said the vehicle, a gray Nissan Patrol SUV, was carrying 80kg (176lb) of the high explosive pentolite, which has been used in the past by Colombian guerrillas. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and Martínez said investigators were searching for its “intellectual authors”. For decades, residents of Bogotá lived in fear of being caught in a bombing by leftist rebels or Pablo Escobar’s Medellín drug cartel. But as Colombia’s conflict has wound down, and the nation’s largest rebel group disarmed under a 2016 peace deal, security has improved and attacks have become less frequent. Smouldering remains of car bomb are seen in this screengrab outside Bogotá police academy. Authorities have yet to suggest who was behind the attack, but attention has focused on leftist rebels from the National Liberation Army, ELN, which has been stepping up attacks on police targets in Colombia amid a standoff with the conservative Duque over how to restart stalled peace talks. The group known was long considered a lesser military threat than the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), whose 7,000 guerrilla fighters disarmed as part of a 2016 peace accord. But in the wake of the peace deal, the Cuban-inspired insurgency has been gaining strength, especially along the eastern border with Venezuela, where it has carried out a number of kidnappings and bombings of oil pipelines. That has hardened Duque’s resolve in refusing to resume peace talks that have been stalled since he took office last August. Thursday’s bombing was the deadliest in the capital since an explosion at the upmarket Andino shopping mall in June 2017 killed three people, including a French woman, and injured another 11. Police later arrested several suspected members of a far-left urban guerrilla group called the People Revolutionary’s Movement for the bombing.But it has been more than a decade since a police or military installation in the capital has suffered a major bombing. A blast at a military university in 2006 left almost two dozen people injured. Ariel Ávila, an analyst who tracks violence, said that in the last four years, there have been 28 attacks in the capital with explosives. While the majority has been carried out with low-grade homemade materials and grenades that have damaged property but left no casualties, he said police intelligence and checkpoints surrounding the city need to be reinforced to prevent more attacks.<doc-sep>Security forces and rescue personnel work at the scene of an explosion Thursday in Bogota, Colombia. (CNN) — At least 20 people were killed Thursday after a car bomb detonated in the Colombian capital of Bogota, according to the country’s National Police. Police said 68 others were injured in the blast, which occurred outside the Gen. Santander National Police Academy. Cablenoticias Rubble litters the ground after an apparent suicide attack at a Colombian police academy Thursday. A high-ranking police official told CNN that the explosion appeared to be the result of a suicide attack. The perpetrator, identified as José Aldemar Rojas Rodríguez, also died in the attack, police said in a statement. Attorney General Nestor Humberto Martinez said Rojas Rodriguez allegedly had approximately 80 kilograms of explosives when he entered the police academy forcibly. Rojas Rodríguez rammed a vehicle onto the grounds of the academy at full speed and ignored calls to stop, according to police. CNN affiliate Cablenoticias showed the area outside the police cadet school cordoned off. JUAN BARRETO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images People evacuate the area near Bogota's Gen. Santander National Police Academy after the blast Thursday. President Ivan Duque condemned the attack as terrorism and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. He later visited the scene, where he ordered the police and armed forces to “determine who the people behind this vile attack are.” He also proclaimed a three-day period of mourning. “From the moment of the events we have provided assistance and accompaniment to families. To all of them I send my love, my gratitude,” he said. JUAN BARRETO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Colombian President Ivan Duque walks to a news conference at the police cadet training school in Bogota after a car bomb attack at the academy. Both Duque and the attorney general said an investigation is underway to identify any others behind the attack but did not provide further details. One of the police cadets killed was a 21-year-old woman from Ecuador who was studying at the academy, Ecuador President Lenín Moreno said. The US Embassy earlier issued a warning on its official Twitter account to Americans in Bogota, referring to a “security incident” and advising people to monitor local media and police sources for more information. CNN en Español’s Ana Melgar and Fernando Ramos, CNN’s Clara Lopez, AJ Davis and journalist Stefano Pozzebon contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
Floral tributes left to the victims of a car bomb attack at the police academy in Bogota. (CNN) — Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) is claiming to have carried out the car bomb attack at a police academy in Bogota last week that left at least 20 dead. In a statement, the leftist militant group said the attack was in retaliation for the government’s bombings of its camps, despite a ceasefire being in place. “Therefore, the operation carried out against said establishment and troops is legal per the ‘right of war,’” said the ELN, which reached a ceasefire agreement with the Colombian government in September 2017. However, that agreement has been tested by attacks from both sides. The group called upon the government to send a delegation to the negotiating table to continue peace talks, adding, “War is not the future for Colombia, it is peace.” Thursday’s attack outside the Gen. Santander National Police Academy injured at least 68 others, police said. Cablenoticias Rubble litters the ground after the attack at a Colombian police academy Thursday. A high-ranking police official told CNN that the explosion appeared to be the result of a suicide attack. Police identified the perpetrator as José Aldemar Rojas Rodríguez, and said he also died in the attack. Attorney General Nestor Humberto Martinez said Rojas Rodriguez allegedly had approximately 80 kilograms of explosives when he entered the police academy forcibly. Rojas Rodríguez rammed a vehicle onto the grounds of the academy at full speed and ignored calls to stop, according to police. CNN affiliate Cablenoticias showed the area outside the police cadet school cordoned off. JUAN BARRETO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images People evacuate after the blast near Bogota's Gen. Santander National Police Academy. President Ivan Duque condemned the attack as terrorism and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. He later visited the scene and proclaimed a three-day period of mourning. “From the moment of the events we have provided assistance and accompaniment to families. To all of them I send my love, my gratitude,” he said. JUAN BARRETO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Colombian President Ivan Duque at the police cadet training school in Bogota after the attack. One of the police cadets killed was a 21-year-old woman from Ecuador who was studying at the academy, Ecuador President Lenín Moreno said. CNN’s Claudia Dominguez contributed to this report.