Rebel attack in Bogotá ?: Cuba warns Colombia of a terrorist attack

Tuesday, February 09, 2021

Rebel attack in Bogotá?
Cuba warns Colombia of a terrorist attack

Cuba actually has good relations with the Marxist rebel movement ELN. But now Havana is warning the Colombian government of an imminent guerrilla attack. Only two years ago an ELN bomb detonated in Colombia's capital.

In an unusual step, the Cuban government has warned of a possible attack by the left-wing guerrilla organization ELN in Colombia. "The government has received a message from the Cuban ambassador to Colombia about an alleged planned attack by the ELN," said Defense Minister Diego Molano. The newspaper "El Tiempo" had previously reported on the warning. Accordingly, the ELN is to plan an attack in the capital Bogotá in the coming days.

So far, the communist leadership in Cuba has always been benevolent towards the Colombian rebels. Parts of the ELN leadership stay in Havana again and again. The Colombian government, the US and the European Union classify the ELN as a terrorist organization.

Colombia creates new elite unit

Just a few hours earlier, Colombian President Iván Duque had announced the creation of an elite unit for operations against drug cartels and guerrilla fighters. The new special command against drug smuggling and transnational threats, which should be fully operational in May, will allow "decisive strikes," said Duque in an interview with Radio Nacional.

The unit should capture or kill senior leaders, including members of the ELN. Also on the list are units of the former guerrilla FARC, which no longer recognize the peace agreement of 2016, as well as fighters of the Gulf cartel active in Colombia.

The Marxist-Leninist National Liberation Army (ELN) has around 2000 fighters. She carried out attacks and took hostages mainly in eastern Colombia. Two years ago, after a bomb attack with 22 dead on a police academy in Bogotá, the government broke off peace talks with the guerrilla organization.