Colombia Bomb Kills 2, Injures 11
A car bomb exploded in front of a school, killing two police officers and wounding 11 more just hours before President Alvaro Uribe began a visit to this violence-ridden eastern town.
Arauca is part of a special militarized zone declared by Uribe last month - but rebels continue to attack roads and energy installations throughout the oil-rich region. Uribe has given the military powers to make arrests without warrants and authorities can impose travel restrictions and curfews in Arauca.
On Monday, Uribe met with local leaders in Arauca, but did not speak to the press. He was accompanied by Defense Minister Martha Lucia Ramirez and senior military officials.
The car bomb severely damaged the school, a hospital and nearby houses and businesses in Arauca, about 285 miles northeast of Bogota. Amid posters of fairy tale characters on the school walls, window-glass shards cut through desks and part of a roof sloped down over 20 computers - the school's biggest investment.
Colombia's two largest rebel groups - the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the National Liberation Army - are both active in the region. Army spokesman Col. Jesus Ruiz blamed both groups for the bomb, which exploded around 6 a.m. near the school in downtown Arauca.
"This is a terrorist demonstration connected to the presidential visit," Ruiz said.
A commander of the National Liberation Army told Caracol radio that his forces were not responsible for the bombing.
In the nearby town of Arauquita, also part of the militarized zone, a city councilman who also worked as a journalist, was killed Monday night. Suspected rebels on a motorcycle shot Jose Eli Escalante in the back, police said.
Also on Monday, suspected FARC rebels set off a bomb in the Caribbean town of Barranquilla, injuring four people, said police chief Col. Luis Andres Estupinan. Barranquilla is 700 kilometers (435 miles) north of Bogota.
Over the weekend, at least 40 people were killed in fighting among the military, rebels and outlawed paramilitary groups, the army reported Colombia is torn by a 38-year civil war. About 3,500 people, mostly civilians, die in the fighting each year.
"There is a good sign in the bigger picture sense," says Dr. Pamela Falk, CBS News consultant. "The government of Alvaro Uribe has decided to crack down on the guerillas and get rid of the drug trafficking and corruption. The former president had given away a great piece of land to the guerillas and it was a mistake - it ended up with much more trafficking and violence. And the peace talks broke down, and that's why we see what we see today. But the hope is that it's on its way to a better time. It's very, very difficult right now."
Members of U.S. special forces are in the region to check out the security situation, U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson said during a visit to Arauca last week.
The forces will train two army brigades in specialized warfare to protect a pipeline that carries oil for Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum. It was bombed 170 times last year, causing losses of US$520 million. So far this year, suspected rebels have bombed it 32 times, Occidental chief of production Carlos Botero told reporters Monday.