CUCUTA, Colombia – The Colombian military announced on Wednesday intelligence agents are searching for members of a leftist guerrilla after a car bomb injured 36 on Tuesday near the border with Venezuela.
Diego Molano, Colombia’s defense minister, said the main suspects are urban terrorists who are members of The National Liberation Army, or ELN, a Marxist-Leninist guerrilla founded in the 60s. The attack, which included two explosions, was at the 30th Colombian Army brigade in Cúcuta.
The U.S. embassy in Bogotá announced Tuesday on Twitter that U.S. military personnel was on the base but there were no reports of serious injuries.
The ELN hasn’t responded to the Colombian government’s accusation. Intelligence agents identified one of the ELN suspects as José Benigno Guzmán Mora, better known as Julián. He allegedly leads ELN’s urban terrorism arm in the Cúcuta area.
In 2019, the guerrilla did claim responsibility for a car bomb attack killing 21 and injuring more than 68 at the General Santander National Police Academy. One guerrilla member died during the 2019 attack, but it’s unclear if it was an intentional suicide.
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This report was filmed before activists announced on Tuesday that they were suspending road blocks and marches across the country.
Torres contributed to this report from Miami.