2019 Bogotá car bombing
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (January 2019) |
| 2019 Bogotá car bombing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Bogotá, Colombia |
| Date | 17 January 2019 |
| Target | National Police of Colombia |
Attack type | Suicide bombing |
| Weapons | Car bomb |
| Deaths | 20 (+1 attacker)[1] |
| Injured | 68 |
| Perpetrators | José Aldemar Rojas Rodríguez |
On 17 January 2019, a car was driven into the General Santander National Police Academy in Bogotá, Colombia. The car forced its way into the facility, hit a wall and exploded, killing 21 persons (including the perpetrator) and injuring 68 others.[2][3] Suicide attacks are unusual in Colombia. The car contained about 80 kilograms (180 lb) of pentolite.[4] It is the deadliest attack on the Colombian capital since the 2003 El Nogal Club bombing and the first terrorist attack on the capital since the 2017 Centro Andino bombing.[5]
Background
The Colombian conflict started in 1964, although systematic violence in the country can be dated since the end of the 19th Century (Thousand Days' War). The National Liberation Army (ELN) is one of the most prominent actors of the ongoing conflict. 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, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) disarmed under a 2016 peace deal, security has improved and attacks have become less frequent.[6] Sporadic attacks has affected the city over the last years. The most prominent was an explosion at the upmarket Andino shopping mall in June 2017 killed three people, including a French woman, and injured another 11.[7] Police later arrested several suspected members of a far-left urban guerrilla group called the People Revolutionary’s Movement for the bombing.
Perpetrator
Attorney General Néstor Humberto Martínez identified the perpetrator as José Aldemar Rojas Rodríguez, a 57-year-old with no previous criminal record from the northern department of Boyacá, and his vehicle as a grey 1993 Nissan Patrol.[8][9] In the immediate aftermath, the authorities began investigating Rojas's possible connections to either the National Liberation Army (ELN) or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla movements or to the Clan Úsuga organized crime gang.[10]
International reactions
A foreign national, identified as a woman from Ecuador, was killed in the attack, while three nationals from Panama, one from the United States and another also from Ecuador were wounded.[11] Their respective governments have expressed their condemnation for the attack and assistance to their citizens.
Ecuador: President Lenín Moreno lamented the death of Erika Chicó, an Ecuadorian victim of the attack, and expressed his condolences to Colombia. He also announced that he will send Vice President Otto Sonnenholzner to Bogotá accompanied by Chicó's relatives. [12]
Panama: The Panamanian embassy in Bogotá expressed its indignation at the attack, and provided a phone number for information about Panamanian cadets affected. [13]
United States: The Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Kimberly Breier condemned the bombing and said: "Our condolences and sympathies go to the victims and family members of those killed", while the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá offered its "help in investigating this reprehensible attack."[14]
Argentina,[15] Brazil,[16] Peru,[17] and the Organization of American States[18] also condemned the attack.
References
- ^ Staff; agencies (17 January 2019). "Car bomb kills at least 10 at police academy in Bogotá". Archived from the original on 2019-01-17. Retrieved 17 January 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Las pistas sobre el ataque con carro bomba a Escuela de la Policía". El Tiempo. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Radio, AFP, Caracol (17 January 2019). "Esto fue lo que sucedió y cómo entró la camioneta a Escuela de la Policía". Caracol Radio. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Lo que se sabe del atentado contra la Policía en Bogotá". www.eluniversal.com.co (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2019-01-17.
- ^ "Doloroso balance terrorista en Bogotá". KienyKe. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
- ^ Staff; agencies (2019-01-18). "Car bomb kills at least 20 at police academy in Bogotá". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
- ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (2017-06-17). "Tres muertas y ocho heridos por atentado en el centro comercial Andino". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-01-18.
- ^ "Este era José Aldemar Rojas, el autor material del atentado". El Tiempo. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Bogotá blast: Deadly car bomb rocks Colombia capital". BBC News. 17 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-01-17. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Las hipótesis con las que parte la investigación del atentado". El Tiempo. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Tres panameños y una ecuatoriana, heridos en atentado, están estables". El Tiempo. Jan 17, 2019.
- ^ "El mundo rechaza el atentado con carrobomba en Bogotá". ELESPECTADOR.COM (in Spanish). 2019-01-17. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
- ^ Colombia, Embajada de Panamá en (2019-01-17). "Con profunda indignación repudiamos el atentado terrorista a la Escuela General Santander de Bogotá. Para información sobre cadetes panameños, ponemos a su disposición nuestro número telefónico (+571) 257-5067 y/o nuestras redes de FB y Twitter. #NOALTERRORISMO @EscuelaDCadetespic.twitter.com/lay1Te4gS2". @embpanamacol (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-01-17.
- ^ "Several killed in suspected car bomb blast at Bogota police academy". France 24. Jan 17, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-01-17. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Bullrich, Patricia (17 January 2019). "Repudio el atentado en Bogotá contra la Escuela General Santander. Mis condolencias a la Policía de Colombia, a los familiares de las víctimas y a todo el pueblo colombiano. Estamos junto a ellos y rechazamos este acto terrorista que tanto daño le hace a la sociedad". Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ^ "Bolsonaro repudia ataque terrorista na Colômbia" (in Portuguese). Agência Brasil. 17 January 2019.
- ^ "El mundo rechaza el atentado con carrobomba en Bogotá". ELESPECTADOR.COM. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ^ Almagro, Luis (17 January 2019). "Condeno el atentado explosivo ocurrido en la Escuela de Cadetes Gral. Santander en Bogotá. Debemos unirnos en contra de estas acciones terroristas, y enfrentar la violencia donde sea que ocurra. Mi solidaridad con las víctimas, sus familias, y con el gob. y pueblo colombianoshttps://twitter.com/elespectador/status/1085927909393661952 …". Retrieved 17 January 2019.
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