A vehicle packed with explosives detonated late Monday night, August 31, near the police station in Los Patios, a town in the metropolitan area of Cúcuta in Colombia’s Norte de Santander department, close to the border with Venezuela. Authorities believe the device was hidden inside a taxi before it was set off near the police facility.
The blast killed one person and injured 11 others, including two police officers and nine civilians. Photos released after the attack show extensive damage to the station and to nearby buildings, with shattered windows, collapsed structures, and debris scattered across the surrounding streets.
Norte de Santander, a region long troubled by the presence of armed groups such as the ELN guerrilla and dissident factions of the former FARC, has repeatedly been the scene of violence tied to territorial disputes, drug trafficking, and smuggling routes that cross into Venezuela. Attacks against security forces are not uncommon in the area, though the scale of this bombing has drawn renewed attention to the risks faced by officers stationed there.
Colombian authorities are investigating the attack and have not yet confirmed who is responsible. To see the images of the aftermath and follow updates on the investigation, read the full report from El Tiempo.
Image: wallygrom, BY-SA 2.0 (via Openverse).