Iván Duque Adds FBI to Investigation into …

After the explosion of a car bomb that left 36 wounded in a military unit in the city of Cúcuta, in northeastern Colombia, the President, Ivan DuqueHe went to this border town with Venezuela to condemn “the terrorist attack”. According to the president, the FBI will support the investigation into the attack on the base where American soldiers were also located. Duque also offered a reward of 500 million pesos “to find the material and intellectual authors of this act”.

“My solidarity with our National Army for this cowardly and miserable attack which was perpetrated on Tuesday against its personnel, the installations, which sought to affect the personnel of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and also the soldiers who provide military assistance to our country from the States- United, “said the president who arrived in Cúcuta on Wednesday evening.

Assumption and measures

From city ​​of Cucuta, Located some 500 kilometers north of Bogotá, Duque referred to the two assumptions his government uses about the events that occurred at Brigade 30 headquarters. “One associated with the residual armed group, GAOR 33, (l ‘one of the sectors of the exFARC which did not adhere to the peace agreement) and another is with the National Liberation Army, ELN’, declared the Colombian president during a press conference.

The president also outlined a set of actions his administration will take that will affect the metropolitan region of Cúcuta and the department of Norte de Santander. “A reward of 500 million pesos (approximately 135 thousand dollars) has been provided to find the material and intellectual perpetrators of this act,” said Duque.

FBI in Colombia

“A special forensic science group is created to do all the investigation and traceability. And I would also like to thank the particular support given to the National Police of this country in this investigation by the American FBI with specialized personnel ”, added the Colombian president concerning the participation of the American investigative agency in the investigation. .

For their part, from the American diplomatic headquarters in Colombia, they also underlined the military collaboration between the two countries. “Cooperation with the Colombian armed forces is one of the pillars of our efforts to fight transnational crime in the region,” they said on Twitter.

Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano, who also visited Cúcuta, said the US military had not suffered any injuries and shared the president’s assumption of responsibility for what happened. passed into Brigade 30. The ministry also confirmed that 36 people were involved. hurt.

The US Embassy has confirmed the presence of the US military at the Colombian military base. “A small number of US servicemen were at the Cúcuta military base training with a Colombian unit at the time of the explosion. All US personnel have been checked and there are no reports of serious injuries, ”the US Embassy in Colombia posted in a tweet. Colombian media estimate that there were 11 Americans deployed in the military barracks where the car bomb exploded, but the number has not been confirmed by official sources.

Military deployment in Cúcuta

Duque also ordered the creation of a “special bubble” to speed up the search for those responsible. “In the department and city of Cúcuta, we will double the checkpoints and surveillance, as well as requisition and surveillance,” Duque said of the seven requisition points which will increase to 14 across the metropolitan area.

Cúcuta is the capital of the department of Norte de Santander, where the ELN, the illegal group Los Pelusos, clash, remains of a demobilized Maoist insurrection; former dissidents of the FARC and numerous drug gangs. Armed groups are fighting for control of 41,000 hectares of coca leaves in the region, a major smuggling route to Venezuela and the Caribbean.

The official version of the attack is that a white Toyota truck entered Brigade 30 headquarters in Cúcuta at three in the afternoon on Tuesday. In the vehicle were two men posing as officials.