Security update
October 9: a vehicle bomb on the Pan-American and fuel blocked in Segovia
Here's what happened since the last update, and what each one means.
1A vehicle bomb goes off on the Pan-American Highway in Patía
On the morning of Friday, October 9, troops of the army's Brigade 29 spotted the people in a vehicle on the Pan-American Highway in Patía, in southern Cauca. The army says they abandoned the vehicle when they saw the troops, set off the explosives inside and ran. The vehicle was destroyed. Semana says 2 of the 8 explosive devices in it went off. First reports say no one was hurt, and no one has been caught. Semana says the attackers apparently belong to the Carlos Patiño structure of the FARC dissidents. Troops are searching the area for more explosives.
What it means for usIt's the fifth explosives case in the southwest this week, after the 400 kilos stopped on the Pan-American Highway on October 6, the bomb against a police patrol in Popayán on October 7, the truck bomb at the army base in Miranda on October 8 and the 23 explosives stopped in Pasto. If you drive the Pan-American Highway through Cauca, expect army checkpoints and vehicle searches.
2Armed groups block fuel and food in rural Segovia
Óscar Yesid Zapata, of the Sumapaz Foundation (Fundación Sumapaz), says a humanitarian crisis has gripped Segovia and Remedios, Antioquia, for about 15 days. El Colombiano reports a wave of killings there, at least 5 in the last 36 hours. In 2 rural areas of Segovia, Río Bagre and Cañaveral, armed groups restrict movement. Zapata says they check people's phones and don't let gasoline in, and that they don't even let food trucks in. Without fuel, motor pumps and power generators stop, and passenger transport and school routes are affected. The army now escorts the fuel trucks. El Colombiano reports that the Gulf Clan (Clan del Golfo) and Front 4 of the FARC dissidents are fighting in the area.
What it meansSegovia is where 3 bodies were found with their hands tied on October 5, massacre number 97 of the year by Indepaz's count. In these villages, the armed groups decide what gets in, and fuel gets in with an army escort.
31,042 kilos of cocaine seized on the Meta River, linked to the ELN
On October 9, El Tiempo reported that the navy seized 1,042 kilos of cocaine from a boat at Nueva Antioquia, in La Primavera, Vichada, on the Meta River. The boat carried a Starlink satellite antenna. Its driver tried to run when he saw the officers; El Tiempo doesn't say if he was caught. Intelligence links the load to the ELN's José Daniel Pérez front. Navy operations have seized more than 2.5 tons of cocaine on the Meta River in under 15 days.
What it meansThe new 1,200-troop task force goes after the ELN in the north. On the rivers in the east, the navy is hitting its drug money, the money that pays for its drones and explosives.
4A shop owner killed in Soledad over extortion
On October 9, Semana reported that a 55-year-old hardware store owner was shot by a man at his business in the Villa Karla neighborhood of Soledad, in the Barranquilla metro area. He died at a medical center. The authorities' main theory is that he was killed for refusing to pay extortion to gangs in the area. No gang has been named, and no one has been arrested. Semana also reports a 53-year-old man killed in Soledad on August 11, apparently for not paying extortion.
What it meansExtortion reaches small shop owners in the cities, not only in the countryside.
5The UN: 1,173 children forced into armed groups since 2024
In a statement reported on October 9, Scott Campbell, the UN Human Rights Office's representative in Colombia, warned about the risk to children. The Ombudsman's Office (Defensoría del Pueblo) has documented 1,173 cases of children forced into armed groups from 2024 to July 2026, a figure UN Secretary-General António Guterres also used in his report on Colombia. Indigenous organizations in Santander de Quilichao, Cauca, say the groups take children from age 11. Campbell also said young people are lured into wars abroad with false promises, sometimes as mercenaries.
What it meansThat's more than 1 child a day for 2 and a half years.
On social media
His main security post today was his morning roundup at 8:17 AM: 110,000 views and 2,700 likes, with 89 replies. The replies are mostly support, and likes on them are very low. Support: "Great, Mr. President, please restore PEACE in Colombia." (3 likes) Another: "Thank you, President, for leading these operations that are clearly tearing down the criminal structures. The party is over for those bandits who lived in the underworld's paradise in Colombia for the last 16 years, with the state's complacency." (1 like) The critics: "Did you forget Cúcuta and Norte de Santander? I remember you went and said you'd be back in 15 days and wanted results, and so far it's been more than 40 days and still no results!" And: "Dressing civilians up as criminals to sell that they're fighting a war, when in reality they're allied with the real criminals." (2 likes) In this post he calls the 2 men killed in Yarumal Gulf Clan. The night before, he called them Front 36 of Calarcá's dissidents. The army says they were Front 36 working with the Gulf Clan. His Yarumal post kept growing: 91,000 views and 6,600 likes. He didn't post the Patía vehicle bomb, Segovia, the Meta River seizure or the Soledad killing. His biggest post of the day was solidarity with Panama after a strong earthquake: 115,000 views and 7,800 likes. This comes from the top replies on X, not a poll.
I support most of this. But it doesn't go far enough. These groups use any space they're given to reset and grow. They need to be crushed, not contained.