Armed attack on Pan-American Highway kills one police officer and wounds seven in Cauca
A Sijín patrol was attacked with explosives and gunfire in the Mi Bohío sector, between Popayán and Timbío. One uniformed officer died and seven were wounded.
Police officer from Sijín dies in ambush on Pan-American Highway, Cauca
A member of the National Police lost his life and seven other uniformed officers were wounded following an attack with explosives and rifle fire against a Criminal Investigation Section (Sijín) patrol in the area known as Mi Bohío, on the Pan-American Highway between Popayán and Timbío, in the department of Cauca. The incident occurred on Friday, 9 October 2026, at approximately 19:40 (7:40 p.m.), according to infobae.com.
The attack affected Police and Army units that were moving along the highway corridor. As an immediate consequence, the authorities ordered the closure of one of the most heavily travelled stretches in south-western Colombia and deployed specialised units to the area to control the situation and verify the possible presence of other explosive devices.
Initial reports, still preliminary, mentioned the death of a member of the Military Gaula and two wounded. These figures were subsequently adjusted to the final count: one Sijín uniformed officer killed and seven wounded. Likewise, at least seven people were detained in the surroundings of the site, identified by the authorities as having participated in the attack.
To date, the authorities have not officially established responsibility for the attack in Mi Bohío.
A week of attacks in Cauca
The attack is not an isolated incident. In the preceding days, the department of Cauca recorded a series of armed attacks against the security forces.
On Wednesday, 7 October, an explosive device detonated as a police motorcycle passed left two uniformed officers wounded in the Santa Mónica neighbourhood of Popayán, in addition to minor injuries to three civilians from the blast wave.
A day earlier, on Tuesday, 6 October, Army and Police units defused 400 kilograms of explosives concealed in a lorry destined for Cali, in the municipality of Santander de Quilichao.
On Thursday, 8 October, a dump truck loaded with explosives detonated near an Army base in the municipality of Miranda, in northern Cauca. The incident resulted in no casualties, though it did cause material damage to nearby homes.
Hours before the attack in Mi Bohío, that same Friday, troops from the Light Cavalry Group No. 8 of Brigade 29 thwarted a new attack attempt in the Y de La Reina sector, in the municipality of Patía, also on the Pan-American Highway. According to a report from the Army's Third Division, those responsible abandoned a vehicle loaded with explosive material and detonated the charge upon noticing the presence of the soldiers.
Rewards and regional context
In response to the previous attacks recorded in the region, the Mayor's Office of Popayán offered a reward of 20 million pesos for information that would allow the identification of those responsible for the attacks against the security forces.
Cauca is a recurring site for this type of attack, attributed to dissident factions of the extinct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). In the region, these groups have resorted to the use of drones loaded with explosives, the installation of devices on roads, and ambushes against police and military patrols.
Verification operations were continuing in the Mi Bohío sector to rule out the presence of other devices and restore traffic flow on the Pan-American Highway.
Source: Google News CO — Crime