In the middle of the night on September 10th, two explosions went off in the Lomo de Indio neighborhood of Medellin. They were part of an attack, allegedly perpetrated by FARC dissidents, that destroyed at least one EPM power transmission tower.
Mayor Federico Gutiérrez confirmed on social media that it was a terror attack. “Police arrived at Via Loreto in the Asomadera area tonight to verify the presence of a flag alluding to the FARC’s 36th Front. Explosions were heard in the area, and damage to one of EPM’s power towers was confirmed. Army personnel and bomb squad officers are on the scene.”
Investigations conducted by the city have since revealed that five explosive devices were planted, but only two detonated.
Antioquia Governor Andrés Julián Rendón also chimed in on X: “… Initial reports indicate that today’s explosive attacks in the central-eastern part of the city were a reaction to the @PoliciaColombi operation in Campamento, Antioquia. Four FARC dissidents were killed in these events, including alias Guillermino, who allegedly participated in the murder of the 13 uniformed officers in Amalfi.”
He could not resist a jab at President Petro: “…This is the Calarcá front, the same criminal with whom @petrogustavo insists on negotiating a full peace”
The city government has since reiterated its conclusion that the attack was perpetrated by the 36th Front, alleging a motivation to spread fear in the city. In response, the city is deploying 100 urban special forces to beef up security.
Authorities have offered a 200 million peso (COP) reward for anyone who has information leading to the perpetrators of this attack.
The alleged perpetrators of the attack are one of many dissident FARC factions that did not go peacefully into demobilization during the 2016 peace process. They are a significant player within the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), a confederation of semi-autonomous FARC fronts that operate in several parts of the country.
Currently, the group is locked in a tumultuous campaign to dislodge the Clan del Golfo from their territorial control in Bajo Cauca, a region in the north of Antioquia that links Antioquia to Córdoba/Sucre (and onward to Bolívar), serving as a key narcotrafficking corridor to the Caribbean coast. The area also boasts its own host of criminal economies, from coca production to illicit gold mining.
The 36th Front has been particularly active in the past few months, conducting a number of attacks using explosives. Most notably, on Aug 21st, the dissident faction reportedly shot down a police Black Hawk operating in Amalfi, killing 13 police officers.
On August 24 and 28th, in separate incidents, the security forces recovered caches of explosive devices they claim belonged to the 36th Front. According to Governor Rendón, the explosives defused in Medellin a few days ago are similar to those uncovered at these sites.
As well as an escalation in the use of explosives by the 36th Front and other armed groups in Colombia, a FARC dissident attack in Medellin itself has been extremely rare in recent years.
In the 2000s, FARC had a meaningful presence in the city before being forced back by successive Colombian military campaigns. Since then, Medellin has been primarily the domain of local street gangs, the Oficina de Envigado, and some scattered substructures of the Clan del Golfo.
Could that be about to change?
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