Colombia truck bomb near police station wounds 14 ahead of presidential inauguration

A truck bomb exploded on Saturday near a Colombian police station not far from the Venezuelan border, wounding 14 people just days before president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella takes office.

The government in Bogota blamed rebels from the National Liberation Army (ELN), the country’s largest active guerrilla group, for the early-morning blast in the northern city of Cucuta.

Eleven police officers and three civilians were hurt in the incident, according to the latest official toll.

Agence France-Presse reporters saw the vehicle in flames and damaged building facades.

Two of the wounded officers were “fighting for their lives”, said William Villamizar, the governor of Norte de Santander department.

De la Espriella – the right-wing millionaire lawyer who will take the oath of office on August 7, succeeding Gustavo Petro, the first leftist president in Colombia’s history – condemned the attack, calling it “an atrocious, violent act”.