Bomb attack on Colombia highway kills 19 ahead of election | Conflict News
Highway Bomb Attack in Southwestern Colombia Kills 19 Ahead of Presidential Elections
Published April 26, 2026
A bomb explosion on the Pan-American Highway in southwestern Colombia claimed the lives of 19 individuals and left at least 38 others injured during a violent incident on Saturday. The attack occurred in the volatile Cauca department, where buses and vans were mangled by the blast.
Eyewitness accounts describe the force of the explosion as powerful enough to flip several vehicles and create a substantial crater in the roadway. While the governor of Cauca initially reported 14 fatalities and over 38 injuries, the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences announced on Sunday morning that it had begun examining 19 bodies.
Military Chief Hugo Lopez held a news conference on Saturday, stating that the assailants blocked the highway using a bus and another vehicle, detonating the bomb shortly thereafter. This incident occurs just over a month ahead of Colombia’s national elections, where voters are set to select a successor to President Gustavo Petro.
President Petro attributed the attack to Ivan Mordisco, a notorious criminal leader whom he has likened to the late drug lord Pablo Escobar.
The violence follows a bomb attack on a military base in Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, on Friday, which injured two people and sparked further unrest in the Valle del Cauca and Cauca regions. According to Lopez, a total of 26 attacks have been reported in these areas over the past two days.
In response, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez announced an increase in military and police presence throughout the affected regions. Security has emerged as a key issue for the May 31 presidential election, particularly after the assassination of conservative frontrunner Miguel Uribe Turbay during a campaign event in Bogota last June.
Currently leading in the polls is leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda, known for his role in President Petro’s controversial negotiations with armed groups. He is followed by right-wing candidates Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia, both of whom have vowed to adopt a stringent approach toward rebel factions. Each of the candidates has reported receiving death threats and is campaigning under heightened security measures.
