Curfew imposed after bomb attacks in Colombia injure six
Guerrilla fighters carried out four bomb attacks that wounded six people in a restive region of northeast Colombia, prompting officials to declare an overnight curfew Thursday and stoking concerns for a fragile peace process.
The police and military blamed the ELN group, with which the government called off peace talks last month, for the attacks in a cocaine-producing region near Colombia's border with Venezuela on Wednesday night.
A car bomb all but destroyed a toll booth outside the city of Villa del Rosario, while explosives were also detonated at police stations in the same city and in neighboring Cucuta, police commander General William Quintero told W Radio.
A source in the Norte de Santander departmental government, of which Cucuta is the capital, told AFP on Thursday that six people were injured.
Cucuta Mayor Jorge Acevedo announced an 11-hour curfew starting at 7:00 pm Thursday (midnight GMT), with schools shuttered on Friday.
Analysts say the security situation in Colombia has deteriorated under President Gustavo Petro's peace drive, which has seen an easing of the state's military offensive against armed groups, who are gaining strength.
Petro was elected in 2022 on promises of bringing "total peace" to a country battling to extricate itself from six decades of armed conflict between leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, drug cartels and the government.
Talks with remaining armed groups have broken down several times since a deal inked in 2016 led to the disarmament of the FARC, the biggest among the rebel armies.
The Norte de Santander department is a stronghold of the 5,800-strong National Liberation Army (ELN), which last month launched an offensive targeting rival fighters and civilians it alleged to be sympathizers in the Catatumbo region.
More than 60 people have been killed and some 50,000 driven from their homes, prompting Petro's government to suspend talks with the ELN.
The ELN has taken part in failed negotiations with Colombia's last five governments.
The country also faces a political crisis, with deeply unpopular Petro this month asking his entire cabinet to resign on the grounds they were ineffective.
One of those to quit was Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez, whom Petro replaced with Air Force General Pedro Sanchez.
On Monday, the president claimed "big mafias" were plotting to down his plane with missiles.
bur-das/nn/mlr/dw/acb

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Musk regrets some of his Trump criticisms, says they 'went too far'
Musk regrets some of his Trump criticisms, says they 'went too far' Elon Musk, the world's richest person and Donald Trump's former advisor, says he regretted some of his recent criticisms of the US president (Kevin Dietsch) (Kevin Dietsch/GETTY IMAGESvia AFP) Elon Musk, the world's richest person and Donald Trump's former advisor, said Wednesday he regretted some of his recent criticisms of the US president, after the pair's public falling-out last week. "I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far," Musk wrote on his social media platform X, in a message that was received favorably by the White House. Musk's expression of regret came just days after Trump threatened the tech billionaire with "serious consequences" if he sought to punish Republicans who vote for a controversial spending bill. Their blistering break-up -- largely carried out on social media before a riveted public since Thursday last week -- was ignited by Musk's harsh criticism of Trump's so-called "big, beautiful" spending bill, which is currently before Congress. ADVERTISEMENT Some lawmakers who were against the bill had called on Musk -- one of the Republican Party's biggest financial backers in last year's presidential election -- to fund primary challenges against Republicans who voted for the legislation. "He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that," Trump, who also branded Musk "disrespectful," told NBC News on Saturday, without specifying what those consequences would be. Trump also said he had "no" desire to repair his relationship with the South African-born Tesla and SpaceX chief, and that he has "no intention of speaking to him." But after Musk's expression of regret, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump was "appreciative," adding that "no efforts" had been made on a threat by Trump to end some of Musk's government contracts. "The president acknowledged the statement that Elon put out this morning, and he is appreciative of it," Leavitt said. ADVERTISEMENT According to the New York Times, Musk's message followed a phone call to Trump late on Monday night. Vice President JD Vance and Chief of Staff Susan Wiles had also been working with Musk on how to broker a truce with Trump, the report said. - 'Wish him well' - In his post on Wednesday, Musk did not specify which of his criticisms of Trump had gone "too far." The former allies had seemed to have cut ties amicably about two weeks ago, with Trump giving Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). But their relationship cracked within days, with Musk describing the spending bill as an "abomination" that, if passed by Congress, could define Trump's second term in office. Trump hit back at Musk's comments in an Oval Office diatribe and from there the row detonated, leaving Washington stunned. ADVERTISEMENT Trump later said on his Truth Social platform that cutting billions of dollars in subsidies and contracts to Musk's companies would be the "easiest way" to save the US government money. US media have put the value of the contracts at $18 billion. With real political and economic risks to their falling out, both already appeared to inch back from the brink on Friday, with Trump telling reporters "I just wish him well," and Musk responding on X: "Likewise." Trump had spoken to NBC on Saturday after Musk deleted one of the explosive allegations he had made during their fallout, linking the president with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of sex trafficking. bur-arp/aha
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump won't allow 'mob rule in America,' White House says
The White House said Wednesday President Donald Trump would not allow "mob rule" after protests against his immigration policies spread across the United States despite a military-backed crackdown in Los Angeles. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also attacked the Democratic governor of California and mayor of Los Angeles, claiming they had "fanned the flames" of the clashes. "President Trump will never allow mob rule to prevail in America," Leavitt told a briefing at the White House, backed by television screens showing images of burning vehicles and masked rioters. "The most basic duty of government is to preserve law and order, and this administration embraces that sacred responsibility." Leavitt's comments echoed Trump's in a speech at the Fort Bragg military base on Tuesday, in which he vowed to "liberate" Los Angeles and branded the protesters "animals." Trump is in conflict with California authorities who have accused the Republican president of being "dictatorial" and seeking political gain by sending in thousands of troops to break up the protests, which have largely been peaceful. Pockets of violence -- including the burning of self-driving taxis and hurling of stones at police -- have triggered a massive response from authorities, who have used tear gas and other less-lethal weapons. "Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass shamefully failed to meet their sworn obligations to their citizens," Leavitt responded, accusing Newsom of having "fanned the flames and demonized our brave ICE officers." The protests erupted last week after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers carried out a series of raids in Los Angeles to back up Trump's hardline immigration policies. Trump has also called the protesters "paid insurrectionists" -- alleging that some of them had professional anti-riot equipment -- but the White House did not say who it believed was paying them. "It's a good question the president is raising, and one we are looking into, about who is funding these insurrectionists," Leavitt said when asked by AFP about the president's comments. dk/aha


New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
Netanyahu faces toughest test yet with first vote to dissolve Knesset
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could see himself booted from power as Knesset faces the first vote to dissolve parliament on Wednesday over frustrations of the protracted war in Gaza. Israel's longest-serving prime minister is facing the most serious challenge to his power yet after his government began enforcing the mandatory draft for the ultra-Orthodox community to help fight the war against Hamas. While the general public had demanded the sect of religious scholars no longer be exempt from fighting, the move caused a rupture in Netanyahu's far-right coalition, who may turn against the premier and vote to dissolve the Knesset on Wednesday. 4 Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a dissolution vote in Knesset on Wednesday. AP 4 Netanyahu's popularity has waned as frustrations grow over the protracted war in Gaza and the need to draft more Israelis into the fight. AFP via Getty Images The Shahs party, which has traditionally supported Netanyahu, said Monday that they plan to vote in favor of dissolution unless their terms are met. The Degel HaTorah faction, another group Netanyahu needs to stay in power, has been threatening to leave the government since last week. 'Basically, they don't really care about the war and the economic situation of the state and anything else but their communal interest, and the focus of this communal interest is getting the exemption from serving in the army' said Shuki Friedman, an expert on religion and state affairs and vice president of the Jewish People Policy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank. The vote would be one of four needed to bring forward new elections, which polls show Netanyahu would lose given the majority of Israelis no longer back him over the decision to end a cease-fire deal in March and return to all-out war in the Gaza Strip. 4 Members of Knesset who have traditionally supported Netanyahu have made it clear they plan to vote for parliament to dissolve. AFP via Getty Images The prime minister has also seen his popularity wane over the years-long corruption charges levied against him, as well as his government's role in the security failings that allowed Hamas to pull off the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack that saw more than 1,200 people killed. A March poll from the Israel Democracy Institute found that around 70% of Israelis wanted Netanyahu to resign after ending the cease-fire. Netanyahu, however, can still pull through with a last-minute deal with members of his coalition to survive the vote from the opposition. 4 If new elections are triggered, Netanyahu will likely be ousted from power, according to Israeli polls. REUTERS Even if he survives the first vote, his coalition is likely to suffer a major blow from the politically connected ultra-Orthodox community, who continue to protest the draft that is interfering with their full-time religious studies and way of life. If the vote passes, additional elections will be held in the government in the following weeks to move forward to dissolution and holding a new round of elections for prime minister. If Netanyahu is able to survive, another vote for dissolvement can't be held for another six months, allowing the prime minister to stay in power until 2026. With Post wires