Unexploded device sparks alarm after suspected links to armed groups.

Bogotá’s security agencies were on full alert this week after a drone rigged to carry explosives was found on the outskirts of the city less than six kilometers (3.7 miles) from El Dorado international airport.

Anti-terrorist units working along side Colombian air force specialists discovered the drone bomb in woodland close to the Bogotá River in the Kennedy district on Wednesday afternoon.

The drone was close to a makeshift camp, though it was unclear from official reports of the artefact had crashed there or was discarded and hidden.  

An air force spokesman said the site was detected with the help of intelligence services after a tip-off from investigators in Cauca, a conflict region of Colombia where drone bombs are frequently used by armed groups.

The bomb itself was made from 260 grams of powerful C4 explosive stuffed in a PVC tube with a medical syringe rigged as a detonator, a device more commonly seen in Colombia with artisanal landmines, and a camera for guidance.

One unusual element of the drone was its unconventional control system using fiber-optic cables, said the spokesman. This style of drone, pioneered in the Russia – Ukraine conflict, can overcome signal jamming technology making it harder to intercept.

“This type of threat is now present in the cities, we call on the community to call in any suspicious activities,” said the spokesman. Citizens should phone 107 to report drone sightings.

Meanwhile the device had been disarmed and handed over to experts at the CTI (Cuerpo Técnico de Investigación) for forensic analysis, he added.

The improvised weapon’s discovery followed a week of alerts of unauthorized drones seen flying over El Dorado airport, in some cases causing temporary shutdowns. In the most recent incident, an Avianca crew spotted a drone close to the terminal building leading to a10-minute flight suspension.

Aeronáutica Civil, Colombia’s airspace agency, later declared the sighting a false alarm.

Rise of the drones

Armed drones are increasingly being used in Colombia with combatants dropping airborne explosives on rival gangs and state forces, often from home-made devices fabricated from small drones and accessories available on the high street.

The technological race to gain a performative edge on the battlefield has created game-changing tactics in the country’s decades-old conflict, but also brought misery to civilians caught in the crossfire.

According to website Razón Publica, there were 418 drone bombings across the country in 2024 and 2025, with 28 fatalities, of which 10 were civilians. Another 300 people were injured.

See also: Drone attack kills three, injures one

Three of Colombia’s largest armed groups, the ELN, Clan del Golfo and EMC dissidents, were perfecting these improvised devices while state security forces were scrambling to keep up, said the publication.

Drone attacks were reported in all of Colombia’s conflict hotspots, particularly Cauca, Valle, Norte de Santander, Antioquia and Caquetá.

Civilians were often collateral victims – bombs are dropped from several hundred meters and frequently miss their targets – and armed groups also used drones to control communities.

“The drone go beyond attacks: they monitor, intimidate, and generate displacements,” said Razón Publica.

On May 8th, a police station was attacked by five armed drones in the Cauca town of Suárez, according to the local mayor.

#Atención A esta hora disidentes atacan con drones cargados de explosivos la estación de Policía en Suárez, Cauca. La alcaldía suspendió la atención al público y ordenó a sus habitantes a permanecer resguardados en sus viviendas. pic.twitter.com/qcNmg8sDOB

— BLU Pacífico (@BLUPacifico) May 8, 2026

Security chiefs speculated this week that the Bogotá drone bomb could have been planned for military installations based at El Dorado.

Colombia’s main international airport lies alongside the large hangars of CATAM, or Comando Aéreo de Transporte Militar, a large logistical base for military operations, as well as FAC (Air Force) and police facilities.

Cauca link

As for the drone’s origin, some clues pointed to EMC armed group currently fighting state forces in Cauca in the southwest of the country.

According to reports on the El Tiempo news site, the Bogotá drone was only found after prosecutors in Popayán alerted their counterparts in the capital of its location, and this tip-off came two days after the capture in Cauca of two suspected explosives experts – José Musse and José Valencia – accused of belonging to the Frente Carlos Patiño, one of the major fighting units of the EMC.

Cauca was the scene last month of one of Colombia’s worst conflict atrocities when a roadside bomb planted by the EMC exploded killing 21 civilians traveling close to Popayán, the departments regional capital.

See also: Cauca bombs: What’s going on?

When captured on May 4^th in Cauca, Musse and Valencia were found with an “artisanal drone that could be used to attack official installations”, said local prosecutors.

The fact the pair had knowledge of the Bogotá drone – and where to find it – suggested a link to the EMC, said El Tiempo, though there was no evidence they were directly involved.

So the question remains who put a drone bomb in Bogotá? And was it linked to the drone alerts at the airport? With the presidential elections around the corner, many rolos will be hoping for some answers.

The post Drone bomb found in Bogotá appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

Colombia’s troubled corner of Cauca was struck by another tragedy Sunday when a monster truck plowed into spectators at a car show killing three persons and injuring dozens more.

Harrowing footage posted online showed spectators scrambling to escape the path of the customized jeep after it inexplicably left the track in Popayán, the regional capital of Cauca department. Others were not so lucky and crushed by the huge tires. A ten-year-old girl was reported among the dead.

Sunday’s incident was at a fun family event held during the Mayday bank holiday weekend. For many of the 1,500 attendees the car show would initially have been a welcome respite from the grim news that has emerged from Cauca in recent weeks.

The accident struck eight days after a roadside bomb killed 21 vehicle passengers on a highway 30 kilometers north of the city. Dissident fighters from the EMC armed grop later claimed responsibility for the attack, claming that is was targeting military troops but killed civilians by mistake.

See also: Dissident bomb kills 20 civilians at roadblock in southwest Colombia

At the car show event the monster truck, called La Dragona, was being driven by Colombian Sonia Segura. According to event organizers Colombian Monsters SAS, Segura is only woman in Latin America permitted to drive such oversized vehicles.

Monster failure

In an Instagram video posted before Sunday’s event she presented La Dragona and its “1,500 horsepower motor”.

The outdoors display, which also featured a monster truck called Godzilla and motocross competitions, had already appeared at several Colombian cities and has made regular tours of the country over the years.

According to their Facebook page, Colombian Monsters SAS is a Colombian company based in Bogotá but has trucks brought in from the U.S.

#ATENCIÓN. Lamentable balance en Popayán: asciende a 3 la cifra de fallecidos y al menos 12 heridos tras el accidente en la exhibición de Monster Truck en el Boulevard Rose. Entre los lesionados se encuentran varios menores de edad que recibían atención en centros asistenciales.… https://t.co/IsPHNJ0W6H pic.twitter.com/YuYcIncITT

— Colombia Oscura (@ColombiaOscura) May 4, 2026

Footage of Sunday’s crash showed Segura driving La Dragona over crushed cars then turning towards the crowd and accelerating before hitting a concrete post that eventually stopped the vehicle. Ambulance and fire brigade then scrambled to assist the trail of crushed spectators.

Talking to El Tiempo after the tragedy, the Popayán’s police chief Julián Castañeda said that the accident was caused by mechanical faults. Segura was also injured and in hospital in a stable condition, he added.

“This was a private event. There was a mechanical failure, and the vehicle went off the road. The vehicle accelerated, the driver couldn’t brake.”

One video showed the truck engine on fire, though it is not clear if this is a feature of La Dragona or part of any mechanical problem.

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