In Cúcuta, the department capital of the first of these territories, at least five devices were detonated between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, leaving five people injured, according to local media.
According to news reports, the first attack was recorded at the Immediate Action Command of the Villa Antigua Police, in the municipality of Villa del Rosario, when armed men activated three charges with explosives and fired repeatedly.
Later, a car bomb exploded at the La Prada toll booth, near a border crossing with Venezuela, after which five workers were injured and the site was completely destroyed.
About seven hours later, another explosive device detonated at the San Rafael Police Immediate Action Command, a neighborhood in Cúcuta, a high-traffic area close to several educational institutions and with a large influx of people.
In response, a curfew was declared in Cúcuta for the night, educational activities were suspended, and a reward of up to 150 million pesos (about 37 thousand dollars at the current exchange rate) was announced for anyone who offers information about the perpetrators.
The mayor, Jorge Acevedo, declared that the authorities directed the deployment of a large security force to guarantee public order.
“We have more than three thousand police officers, more than 1,200 soldiers, and the Military Police battalion that is in the city. We will not allow the violent to overwhelm us. We will not allow Cúcuta to be taken over by any group outside the law,” he revealed.
On Thursday, the Municipal Administration and the National Police of Popayán, in the department of Cauca, offered a reward for information that would lead to the perpetrators of the attacks that occurred in that city in southwestern Colombia.
After the security council meeting at the Metropolitan Police headquarters, it was learned that up to 20 million pesos (about five thousand dollars) would be given to anyone who provides information about the perpetrators of the placement and explosion of two homemade devices in the facilities of a temporary detention center near the historic sector.
Some 24 hours later, two explosions occurred near police headquarters in the municipalities of Saravena and Fortul, in Arauca, in eastern Colombia.
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