Security update
October 9: explosives in Pasto and a US charge that Maduro armed the FARC
Here's what happened since the last update, and what each one means.
123 explosives stopped in Pasto
On October 8, El Tiempo reported that police in Pasto, Nariño, caught 2 men in a van with a false front plate. Inside were 2 cylinders of 100 pounds each, fitted with propulsion and activation systems, 23 homemade explosives ("tatucos"), a 12-volt motorcycle battery and about 20 meters of cable. Police say one of the devices could affect an area of about 400 meters. The material would belong to the Franco Benavides structure of Mordisco's FARC dissidents. Authorities haven't said what the target was or whether the men were working for an armed group.
What it meansIt's the fourth case of explosives in the southwest this week, after the 400 kilos stopped on the Pan-American Highway on October 6, the roadside bomb in Popayán on October 7 and the truck bomb at the army base in Miranda, Cauca, on October 8.
2A US charge: Maduro sold Venezuelan army explosives to the FARC
On October 8, US prosecutors filed a new indictment in federal court in New York against Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who El Tiempo says were captured in Caracas on January 3 and taken to the United States. El Tiempo, which says it knows the 30-page document, reports the charge that in 2013 Maduro met FARC leaders Timochenko, Iván Márquez and Jesús Santrich over a drug debt he owed the FARC, and agreed to sell them explosives from Venezuela's military reserves. Prosecutors say he knew it would help the FARC attack Colombia, and the FARC were in peace talks with the Colombian government at the time. The indictment also says weapons went to the FARC and the ELN in exchange for cocaine around 2017. Maduro hasn't commented.
What it meansThese are charges, not a verdict. If they hold, Venezuela's government armed the FARC against Colombia while the FARC were negotiating peace.
3The army fights a Calarcá and Gulf Clan alliance in Yarumal
On Thursday, October 8, army troops of the Fourth Brigade, with prosecutors, killed 2 men in rural Yarumal, in northern Antioquia. The army says they were members of Front 36 of Calarcá's FARC dissidents working in alliance with the Gulf Clan (Clan del Golfo), in the security detail of alias "Arboleda," a former Front 36 member who went over to the Gulf Clan. They're accused of threats and extortion in Yarumal, San Andrés de Cuerquía, Toledo and Briceño. Troops seized a rifle and a pistol. The bodies were shown in white bags, and the president was criticized for walking among them in pictures he shared. He told Brazilian politician Flávio Bolsonaro he'll keep doing it: "The more the left dislikes it, the more I'm going to do it."
What it meansSemana calls this alliance unprecedented. A Calarcá front and the Gulf Clan are now working together in northern Antioquia, and the army is facing them together.
4A Mexican businessman kidnapped after landing in Cali
A Mexican businessman who came to Valle del Cauca for coffee business was taken soon after he landed at the Alfonso Bonilla Aragón airport, which serves Cali, on October 2. His captors demanded 10,000 dollars. On October 8, the army's anti-kidnapping unit (GAULA) freed him at the Cali bus terminal. He was held for 6 days. No one has been arrested. Semana doesn't say how he was taken.
What it means for usA foreigner was taken right after landing. When you fly in, have your ride arranged before you land, and use the airport's official taxis.
5"La Morocha" sent to jail
A judge sent Diana Milena Agudelo Salazar, alias "La Morocha," to jail while she's tried. Her 2 bodyguards, captured with her, face weapons charges. She's the Calarcá dissident leader captured in Caquetá on October 6. Prosecutors say that on March 18, 2026, she had a couple held at a community meeting; they escaped, and armed men then made them leave the region with their 4 children, allegedly on her orders. She's charged with conspiracy, kidnapping, forced displacement and weapons crimes. All 3 rejected the charges.
What it meansForcing families out is one of the ways these groups control a region. This case is built on one of those families.
On social media
He posted the Yarumal operation at 8:51 PM: 50,000 views and 3,800 likes. The replies are split, and likes on them are low. The most-liked support: "Pursue without rest, act firmly. No truce with those who terrorize our people. Every result is more security for the families of Colombia." (15 likes) Another: "May these scenes repeat until crime stops being news. Seeing them neutralized and exposed is the sign that order is starting to take hold, day after day." (4 likes) The critics say the result is being made to look bigger than it is: "Killing 2 members of a 'security detail' of a mid-level leader, alias Arboleda, doesn't break up the chain of command that's been operating in Antioquia for a very long time. That's an ordinary military patrol, not a big blow." (2 likes) Another: "Showing the dead like hunting trophies is the mark of a miserable government." A new request: "Excellent, Mr. President. But when will we see these same results in the cities? Insecurity is out of control." The body bags drew both sides again. His Barranquilla post kept growing overnight: 120,000 views and 4,900 likes. He hasn't posted the Pasto explosives, the Maduro charges or the kidnapping. 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.