In July 2015, Bogota Columbia was victimized by two terrorist bombings in the affluent financial district. The target was Porvenir, a private investment company. Seven people were injured though none of the injuries were serious. Joshua Goodman, Associated Press Chief, noted that FARC rebel attacks had been increasing in other parts of the country, though there was nothing to connect them to this most recent attack. Many people were very disturbed because they had considered this area to be safe.
It may be possible that the June bombings of oil pipelines in rural Columbia are related to those in Bogota. Drug dealers may also be involved, responsible as they are responsible for so many attacks. Other criminal gangs are involved in extortion rackets, primarily focused in Columbia’s cities. Motives of personal revenge are also a possibility.
Bogota has made serious efforts to bolster its security and has lessened the number of terrorist incidents, which may have led to a sense of false security. Now any sense of security in Bogota is shattered.
Civil conflict throughout the rest of Columbia, especially between the Columbian army and FARC rebels, has been a long term problem (Gross). Columbia’s defense minister, Luis Carlos Villegas, labelled the explosions as terrorist attacks, despite the use of low impact explosives in the blasts.
The US State Department rates the threat of terrorism throughout Columbia as high. According to their Crime and Safety Report, Colombia is beleaguered by the ongoing conflict with the National Liberation Army (ELN)), as well as by organized crime. These violent organizations receive financing from independent and widely dispersed criminal groups. The resulting violence is accountable for the deaths of thousands of civilians and the displacement of more than 2 million people in the last 15 years (US State Department). There is no indication that Columbia’s government is taking any new precautions for dealing with the most recent Bogota terrorist incident.
- Gross, Daniel (2015). Two bombings in Bogota draw attention to renewed violence in Colombia.
- US State Department. Columbia 2015 Crime and Safety Report.
