Colombia endured its deadliest day in months on 21 August when dissident factions of the former FARC guerrilla movement carried out two separate attacks that killed at least 18 people and injured more than 70, according to national and local authorities. In the morning, a National Police Black Hawk UH-60 helicopter overseeing coca-crop eradication in rural Amalfi, Antioquia, was downed by an explosive-laden drone, killing the 12 officers on board and wounding several others. President Gustavo Petro said the strike was orchestrated by the Frente 36 wing of the Estado Mayor Central, a FARC splinter group that rejected the 2016 peace accord. Hours later, a truck packed with explosives detonated outside the Marco Fidel Suárez Aerospace Force base in Cali, the country’s third-largest city. The blast destroyed nearby homes and shops, leaving six civilians dead and at least 71 people hurt, city officials said. Mayor Alejandro Eder ordered the ‘militarization’ of Cali, imposed overnight restrictions on heavy-vehicle traffic and offered a reward of up to COP 400 million (about US$100,000) for information leading to those responsible. Petro blamed both assaults on FARC break-away factions aligned with drug-trafficking networks and asked the international community to classify the groups as terrorist organizations. He later published photographs of a captured suspect, identified as alias “Sebastián”, whom he linked to the Cali bombing. Security forces remain on high alert as investigators probe the coordination and growing use of drones and car bombs in the country’s evolving conflict.