A quiet Friday evening turned deadly at a Colombian army base on September 4, when explosive-laden drones struck the El Trapiche military garrison on the outskirts of Ocaña, in the northeastern department of Norte de Santander near the Venezuelan border.
According to reporting by El Tiempo, the attack unfolded around 7:20 p.m. local time and was followed by a ground ambush apparently set to target soldiers responding to the initial strike. A captain and a professional soldier were killed instantly in the assault, while a third service member died from his injuries hours later.
Colombian military officials have classified the incident as a terrorist attack, though the full details of how the operation was planned and executed are still under investigation. The use of explosive drones marks part of a troubling pattern of increasingly sophisticated attacks against security forces in Colombia, where armed groups—including guerrilla factions and criminal organizations—have expanded their use of aerial weapons in recent years, particularly in remote and border regions.
Norte de Santander has long been a flashpoint in Colombia’s internal conflict due to its strategic location along smuggling and drug-trafficking routes near Venezuela. The Colombian Army has not yet released the name of the group responsible for the attack.
For the full investigative report, including additional details on the sequence of events, read the original story at El Tiempo.
Source: Emboscada que esperaba a militares tras ataque con drones explosivos: así fue la acción terrorista en Ocaña (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: mark6mauno, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).