The death toll from a bombing in the tumultuous southwest region of Colombia has climbed to 20, as confirmed by officials on Sunday.
The incident occurred on Saturday when an explosive device was set off on a bus traveling the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio. According to Octavio Guzmán, the governor of Cauca, the casualties include 15 women and five men.
Relatives gathered to honor the victims at the attack site on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, on Sunday, April 26, 2026. The explosion claimed the lives of 15 women and five men and left 36 others injured. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
Governor Guzmán shared on X that among the 36 injured, three remain in critical condition in intensive care. He also mentioned that five injured individuals are minors, who are anticipated to make a full recovery.
The Colombian Institute of Legal Medicine is working to identify the deceased, enlisting experts such as dentists, anthropologists, and forensic doctors.
Onlookers surveyed the devastating aftermath of the attack in Cajibio, Colombia, on Sunday, April 26, 2026. Colombian authorities have attributed the bus bombing, which killed 20 people in the sensitive Cauca region, to dissident factions of FARC. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
The bombing is the latest attack in the region, with more than two dozen incidents reported in the past three days in southwestern Colombia. The region is home to illegal armed groups who vie for control of coca leaf cultivation areas and for sea and river access routes to run drug trafficking operations to Central America and Europe.
Gen. Hugo López, commander of Colombia’s armed forces, has described the incident as a “terrorist act.” He blamed it on the network of a man known as “Iván Mordisco” — one of Colombia’s most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
A man looks at vehicles damaged in the bombing in Cajibio, Colombia, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the attacks against the civilian population and called on authorities to investigate the incidents and “guarantee justice for the victims.”
Guzmán declared three days of mourning on Sunday in memory of the victims.
