Gunfire and grenades hit a police station in southwestern Colombia on Sunday, and by the time the shooting ended one officer was dead and four people were wounded, authorities said.
FARC dissidents carried out the assault in the Cauca department. These are fighters from the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia who never accepted the 2016 peace agreement. The old FARC spent decades fighting the government with assassinations, hijackings and bombings aimed at undermining authorities in Bogota.
What the army said
Soldiers went into the town of Carmelo to restore order, the army said in a post on X. It described “terrorist actions” that looked like retaliation for a police operation against criminal groups nearby. According to the army, the armed groups held local residents in front of them as human shields so that troops could not reach the area and support the police.
Videos spread by local press give a sense of the scene. Some were apparently recorded by residents sheltering from the shooting. Others show the station under fire, with officers trapped inside crying out for help.
Calls for help
Governor Octavio Guzmán of Cauca said on X that he phoned Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez urgently, asking him to restore public order and protect the people of the town.
The dissidents operating in the region are under the command of Néstor Gregorio Vera, who goes by Iván Mordisco and is among the most wanted men in Colombia. His factions walked away from peace talks with President Gustavo Petro’s government.
Police in Cauca had been hit before. In late August, at least three officers were injured in a similar attack in the same department.
