An explosives-laden dump truck exploded on Wednesday morning, November 4, in the village of El Estrecho, in the municipality of Patía in Colombia's southwestern Cauca department, close to a police substation on the Pan-American Highway, The City Paper Bogotá reported from Popayán.

The vehicle, a modified dump truck known locally as a volqueta, had reportedly been prepared to attack the police installation. According to local media reports cited by The City Paper, motorists travelling along the highway raised the alarm after noticing the suspicious vehicle, and security checks enabled authorities to detect the truck before it could reach its intended target.

Realising the vehicle was about to be intercepted, the perpetrators reportedly detonated the explosives rather than allow the truck to be stopped. The City Paper reported at least one person killed and six injured, with nearby homes and commercial establishments damaged, while emergency services assessed whether there were more casualties.

Colombia's president confirmed one dead and two women hurt, Infobae reported. Both women are older and were in serious condition in hospital in El Bordo, Infobae said, adding that there were two blasts minutes apart. Merchants and social leaders named the dead man as Felipe Joaquín Rivera, a 20-year-old barber who reportedly came out of his shop after the first blast. The highway was closed after the explosion and later reopened.

Authorities have yet to release a comprehensive account of Wednesday's explosion or formally attribute responsibility, The City Paper said. Semana reported that authorities blame the Carlos Patiño structure of the FARC dissident network led by Iván Mordisco, while Diana Murillo of the Cauca government said that group operates in the area and the case remains under investigation. The president wrote: "We're going to find them, we're going to pursue them and we're going to capture them."

A highway under repeated attack

On the same day, November 4, police explosives specialists located three explosive-filled gas cylinders and four improvised explosive devices in the same municipality, following warnings from local communities, The City Paper reported. Semana reported more than 12 attacks foiled on the Pan-American Highway in two months, with military sources saying four tons of explosives have been seized on the road.

The bombing came less than a month after another major attack on the same highway, when an explosives-laden vehicle destroyed the El Bordo toll station in Patía on October 12, injuring at least three civilians and damaging nearby homes. The Army attributed that attack preliminarily to the Carlos Patiño structure. On October 21, residents of El Tambo discovered buried explosive cylinders along a road connecting the municipality with Popayán.

The Pan-American Highway is a vital transport artery connecting Cali, Popayán and Pasto, carrying commercial traffic, agricultural produce and passenger transport across southwestern Colombia. Illegal armed groups, including the ELN guerrilla and FARC dissident factions, are fighting for control of strategic drug-trafficking routes in the region, and attacks along the corridor threaten civilian mobility, regional trade and access to essential services.