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Five soldiers were killed and 35 others wounded on Saturday in an attack by explosive-laden drones on a military base in the southern part of Colombia’s Bolivar department.
According to a report by the El Colombiano news website, the drone attack targeted a military base in the town of Santa Rosa del Sur.
Five soldiers died in the attack, while 35 were wounded, eight of them seriously.
The Colombian Army’s 1st Division said the attack, carried out with explosive-laden drones, violated international humanitarian law and fundamental human rights, announcing that an air-supported operation had been launched in the area to capture the perpetrators.
Verified footage shared on social media showed the drones striking the infrastructure, barracks and administrative buildings of the military facility, with roofs collapsing and buildings sustaining heavy damage.
In a statement on X, President Abelardo de la Espriella said, “Terrorism will not break us.”
He also expressed solidarity with the families of the soldiers and said he had ordered that the wounded receive all the care and support they need.
De la Espriella said he had ordered operations to be intensified to identify and capture those responsible, condemned the attack targeting members of the National Army and said such acts would further strengthen Colombia’s determination to defend itself.
“We will pursue you with the full legitimate force of the state until we dismantle your criminal organizations and bring you to justice,” he said, addressing those behind the attack, adding that the government would not cede “a single centimeter of territory to terrorism.”
In a later post, De la Espriella described the attackers as “narcoterrorists” and said their violent reaction was a consequence of the government’s offensive against their criminal structures.
“For every attack, a bombing. For every drop of blood shed by our police officers, soldiers and fellow citizens, thousands of narcoterrorists killed or wounded,” he wrote, adding that the state “does not negotiate under threats.”
No armed group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, and security authorities have not issued an official statement.
On Nov. 4, De la Espriella ordered the identification and capture or killing of leaders of illegal armed groups, particularly members of the rebel group National Liberation Army (ELN) and former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
On Aug. 28, the De la Espriella government formally ended peace talks with three illegal armed groups, including the General Staff of Blocs and Fronts (EMBF) and the ELN, citing their failure to show “sufficient will for peace.”
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