Two explosive attacks struck Colombia on Saturday, killing a police officer and wounding several others on the first day after Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in as president and vowed an uncompromising fight against drug-linked armed groups.
A car bomb destroyed a toll booth under construction on the Pan-American Highway near Santander de Quilichao in Cauca province, lightly wounding two security guards. In a separate strike, an explosives-laden drone hit a police station in Cesar province, killing one officer. The Colombian army attributed the highway bombing to two dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that rejected a 2016 peace deal.
De la Espriella, who defeated Senator Iván Cepeda in a June runoff by less than one percentage point, condemned the attacks on social media. The U.S. State Department has pledged $1 billion in security aid to the new administration.