Drone attack on police station in Teruel, Huila: one officer injured
Four explosives launched by drones struck the Teruel police station on 16 October, leaving one officer slightly injured. It is the eighth attack of this type in Huila in two months.
Four drone detonations shake Teruel police station
The police station in the municipality of Teruel, in the department of Huila, was struck by four explosive devices transported by drones on Friday, 16 October 2026. According to infobae.com, the detonations occurred at 1:32 p.m., at which point the institution activated the Defence Plan and coordinated actions with the Colombian Air Force (FAC), which deployed an aircraft to fly over the area. By that time, the situation was already under control.
One officer sustained minor injuries to one of his lower limbs and received medical attention at a healthcare facility, as confirmed by the National Police in a statement following the attack. The authorities also activated a lockdown plan in the municipality.
Escalation: eight drone attacks in two months in Huila
The Teruel incident adds to a series of eight attacks with this type of device recorded in the department over the past two months. Less than 24 hours earlier, three drones had struck the Palermo police station, leaving two officers injured and prompting the convening of an extraordinary security council by local authorities.
On that occasion, the mayor of Palermo, Kleyver Oviedo Farfán, confirmed that one of the devices was aimed at the police station—which has approximately 22 officers on duty—while another was reportedly intended for the Palace of Justice, though it ultimately struck a building in the city centre.
The authorities attributed the attacks in Palermo, Aipe and Neiva to the Ismael Ruiz structure, belonging to the Central Isaías Pardo Block of the Central General Staff of the FARC dissidents. The armed group is believed to have intensified the use of drones adapted with explosives as a method of harassment against the police force, in parallel with the imposition of movement restrictions on the civilian population in the region.
The sequence began on presidential inauguration day
The first attack in the series occurred on 7 August 2026, the same day as the presidential inauguration of Abelardo de la Espriella, when a device launched from a drone struck Teruel Town Hall, a building that also houses the police station. That incident left two technicians injured by shrapnel whilst carrying out internet network maintenance work on the second floor of the building.
Since then, attacks have spread to the municipalities of La Plata, Neiva and Aipe. The most recent before Friday occurred on 12 October in Aipe, where two devices struck the local police station without causing injuries, though with material damage to the facilities.
Early warning and student relocation
Weeks before the presidential inauguration, on 26 July, the Office of the Ombudsman issued early warning 016, cautioning about the presence of armed groups in Palermo, Aipe, Neiva, Santa María and Teruel. The document noted the expansion of the Ismael Ruiz front and the mobile company Julián González, both structures linked to the Central Isaías Pardo Block.
The risk warned of by the Ombudsman materialised in a preventive measure concerning the civilian population: on 13 October, approximately 300 students from the Misael Pastrana Borrero educational institution in Teruel were temporarily relocated to the Jaime Losada Perdomo campus. The decision, contained in Directive No. 03 from Huila's Education Secretariat, responded to the school's proximity to the police station and was adopted following a Security Council meeting.
The departmental Education Secretary, Edgar Martín Lara, stated that the priority is to prevent students and teachers from being exposed to potential violent action.
Drone prohibition and reward in Palermo
Following the attack recorded in Palermo, the Huila Governor's Office decreed the prohibition of unauthorised drone flights in the urban centre of that municipality and offered a reward of between 10 and 15 minimum monthly wages to anyone providing information that would allow the identification and capture of those responsible. The Army and Police are additionally maintaining a lockdown plan in the area, whilst the authorities continue to investigate the attack recorded this Friday in Teruel.
Source: Google News CO — Crime