BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) 鈥� A spate of attacks in Colombia’s southwestern region has raised security concerns as the country heads to a May presidential election in which crime is expected to be one of the top voter concerns.
Rebel groups have staged 26 attacks with explosives and drones since Friday, including a deadly blast Saturday on a highway between the cities of Cali and Popayan, according to Colombia鈥檚 defense ministry. The death toll in that explosion rose to 21 people on Monday.
Violence in the region is nothing new. Illegal groups have sought to control the area for decades, deeming it strategic for illicit activities, such as and drug trafficking, including the cultivation of coca leaf, the raw material for cocaine.
Authorities blamed a group known as for the lethal explosion, near a tunnel on the Pan-American Highway. The group is led by Nestor Vera 鈥� commonly known as Iv谩n Mordisco 鈥� a former member of the , known by its Spanish acronym FARC, who refused to join a 2016 peace deal with the nation鈥檚 government.
Sergio Guzm谩n, a political risk analyst in Colombia’s capital, Bogota, said that Mordisco鈥檚 group could be trying to demonstrate that it has the capabilities to do serious damage, and is seeking to 鈥渆stablish its credibility鈥� with Colombia鈥檚 next government as it positions itself for future negotiations.
鈥淧art of what they are doing is establishing leverage towards the future,鈥� Guzm谩n said.
Under , a former member of a guerrilla group, the Colombian government has attempted to stage peace talks with the nation鈥檚 remaining rebel groups through a strategy known as ” .”
The government has offered ceasefires to various groups in an effort to promote peace negotiations, but analysts say the strategy has failed, because these groups used the ceasefires to regroup, rearm and strengthen their grip over communities.
Groups like the FARC-EMC have been known to tax residents in areas under their control, and also forcibly recruit youth into their ranks.
鈥淭he government鈥檚 peace policy has been na茂ve,鈥� said Javier Garay, a political science professor at Colombia鈥檚 Externado University. 鈥淭hey thought that if they had a condescending attitude towards these groups they would receive a positive response.鈥�
In late 2023, the FARC-EMC entered peace talks with the Colombian government. But a faction led by Mordisco abandoned the talks in April 2024, and has been since then.
Elizabeth Dickinson, a Colombia analyst at the International Crisis Group, said that Mordisco鈥檚 group is particularly strong in the provinces of Cauca and Valle del Cauca, where it’s fighting for control of drug trafficking routes and illegal gold mines.
For the past two years, Mordisco鈥檚 group has also used drone attacks and car bombs, to respond to an offensive from the Colombian military in the , a remote area covered with coca fields that is under the FARC-EMC鈥檚 grip.
Dickinson said that the latest attacks in southwest Colombia are one way for the group to show that it can sustain its 鈥渁symmetrical war鈥� against the government.
Colombia鈥檚 defense minister on Sunday said that kidnappings and lockdowns enforced by rebel groups on communities had decreased in Cauca over the past year because of the government’s actions.
In a nationally televised address Monday night, Petro said his government has fought drug trafficking and slowed down the cultivation of coca crops in Colombia, where he said 258,000 hectares (638,000 acres) were planted with coca in late 2025.
But the government鈥檚 total peace strategy has come under fire from the opposition, whose candidates are hoping to benefit from the nation鈥檚 security woes, as they promise to take a tougher stance on crime.
Petro is barred by Colombia鈥檚 constitution from running for another term. But his party鈥檚 candidate, Iv谩n Cepeda, has promised to continue peace talks with rebel groups.
Cepeda said on X that he rejected the recent attacks in southwest Colombia, and urged authorities to investigate whether they were part of an effort to interfere with the election.
The request was echoed Monday night by Petro, who asked security forces in Colombia to investigate whether the explosives used in Saturday’s attacks came from Ecuador, whose conservative government recently started a trade war with Colombia over security issues along their border.
鈥淭hey want to sabotage our elections so that the extreme right wins,鈥� Petro said without specifying who might be trying to undermine the May election. 鈥淭hey are scared,鈥� he said in his televised address.
Voters in Colombia will head to the polls on May 31 to choose from 14 different presidential candidates, including Cepeda, and conservatives Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia.
While Cepeda favors the continuation of Petro鈥檚 鈥渢otal peace鈥� strategy, his conservative rivals have said that they favor confronting rebel groups and putting more military pressure on them before resuming peace talks.
Guzm谩n said that while this weekend鈥檚 attacks 鈥渄eepen the discomfort鈥� with the security situation in Colombia 鈥� where a 鈥� both sides will try to profit from this new wave of violence.
鈥淕overnment supporters will use the attacks as an opportunity to say that that this is exactly why we need to reach urgent agreements with (rebel) groups,鈥� Guzm谩n said. 鈥淒etractors will say this is why we need to more aggressively attack them.鈥�
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