The car bomb attack on a military base in Cucuta sows more instability in Colombia, amid the social upheaval. The authorities insisted yesterday on targeting the Army of National Liberation (ELN) as the main suspect, but this guerrilla group had not claimed responsibility for the action until last night.

The explosion raises unknowns in a country that believed it had left behind political violence with the dissolution of the FARC in 2016. But it seems unlikely that Colombia can achieve full pacification as long as it produces cocaine. The ease with which the perpetrators of the attack accessed the barracks or the choice of target, a compound where there are US soldiers and a unit to fight drug trafficking, increases suspicions.

Despite Colombia's experience in the fight against terrorism, the two unknown men who entered the 30th Brigade in Cucuta, capital of the Norte de Santander region, with a vehicle loaded with explosives early Tuesday afternoon (around midnight in Spain) did so without major problems. It was first said that the terrorists identified themselves as members of the Prosecutor's Office, which was denied by the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The SUV exploded five minutes after being parked in front of the baso dispensary, very close to the counter-trafficking operations battalion and the facilities that house a us military personnel who provide advice to Colombian troops in the fight against drugs. After a first deflagration, a second detonation occurred two minutes later. No one was killed, but 36 people were injured - two of them civilians - three seriously, and none of the Americans were affected.

36 wounded

The military base houses U.S. troops and a counter-drug battalion

Although investigators - who are being assisted by the FBI - do not rule out as perpetrators a group of FARC dissidents linked to drug trafficking, the first hypothesis is the ELN, as Defense Minister Diego Molano, who traveled to Cucuta shortly after the attack, reiterated yesterday. "Terrorists cannot continue to pose as peace managers abroad, while committing heinous acts against our soldiers and Colombians. All the cooperation to the Prosecutor's Office to clarify the attack in the 30th Brigade. The ELN would be responsible," Molano tweeted.

The minister was referring to the contacts that the ELN has maintained with the government to begin peace negotiations. Although some guerrilla leaders take refuge in Venezuela, the interlocutors with the executive branch are in Cuba. In the last two years, both sides have had some thirty contacts - directly or through foreign diplomats, UN representatives or members of the Catholic Church, who act as mediators - and the dialogue has fluctuated according to guerrilla activity. A turning point was the January 17, 2019, attack by the ELN on a military school in Bogotá that killed 22 cadets and injured 67 people. A car bomb attack, very similar to Monday's in Cucuta.

The attack came just hours after the National Strike Committee (CNP) announced a temporary halt to protests against the conservative government of Ivan Duque that have sparked serious unrest across the country since April 28. The committee leaders say that the negotiations with the administration remain stalled and are betting on presenting their demands to Congress while the dialogue is recomposed.

Temporary measure

The attack took place hours after a halt to street protests was announced

Precisely, Molano has overcome in recent weeks two motions of confidence in Parliament, avoiding his dismissal, since the CNP directly blames him for the fifty deaths caused in the repression of protests by riot police of the National Police, a body that despite being civilian depends on the Ministry of Defense.

Duque also traveled tuesday night to Cucuta, called the attack "insane" and announced a reward - in exchange - of about 112,000 euros for information about the perpetrators. Yesterday the president inaugurated in Bogota the Anato Tourist Showcase, the main tourism fair in the country, which is again held in person despite the fact that Colombia is now one of the main global sources of covid contagion. After the dissolution of the FARC, the government dreamed of receiving millions of foreign tourists to an idyllic Pacific Caribbean destination. Despite the street riot and the persistent violence of drug trafficking or guerrillas, Duque still has that dream.