Story perspectives

Car Bomb Hits Cauca Toll, Trump Pledges $1B Aid

8/9/2026

Summary

President Condemns Bomb

President Abelardo de la Espriella condemned a car bomb that exploded at a Cauca toll plaza on the Pan-American Highway on Saturday.
The Colombian military said two Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) splinter groups carried out the attack, wounding two security guards.
Transport Minister Elsa Noguera vowed to restore security and said U.S. President Donald Trump pledged $1 billion in aid to support de la Espriella’s crackdown, raising rights-group concerns.

Summary

Governor Warns

A car bomb detonated at a toll plaza, shattering windows, sending glass shards into residents’ skin and lifting Elizabeth Zapata out of bed with cuts.
Cauca Governor Jorge Octavio Guzmán warned the attack aims to isolate the department and called it systematic.
A guard reported the bomb exploded from an abandoned vehicle after the driver fled on a motorcycle, prompting Transport Minister Elsa Noguera to order swift repairs.

History

Historical Context

Plan Colombia, launched in 2000 with $1.3 billion U.S. aid, cut the FARC from over 18,000 fighters in 2001 to under 7,000 by 2014 and enabled the 2017 peace accord. Yet splinter groups remain, as the 2024 Cauca car bomb condemned by President Abelardo de la Espriella and Elsa Noguera shows. Donald Trump’s $1 billion aid pledge echoes the early-2000s surge.

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President Condemns Bomb

President Abelardo de la Espriella condemned a car bomb that exploded at a Cauca toll plaza on the Pan-American Highway on Saturday.
The Colombian military said two Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) splinter groups carried out the attack, wounding two security guards.
Transport Minister Elsa Noguera vowed to restore security and said U.S. President Donald Trump pledged $1 billion in aid to support de la Espriella’s crackdown, raising rights-group concerns.

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