Attack on Cúcuta police commander: armoured truck 80% destroyed
The commander of Puerto Santander Police Station survived an attack with explosives and rifle fire in a rural area of Cúcuta. The two uniformed officers were unharmed thanks to the vehicle's armoured plating.
Explosives and rifle intimidation against uniformed officers on rural road in Norte de Santander
According to noticiascaracol.com, Major José Luis Vargas Manrique, commander of Puerto Santander Police Station, survived an attack on Tuesday 28 July in a rural area of Cúcuta, on the road leading from Aguaclara towards Puerto Santander, near the Los Milagros parish sector.
The armoured vehicle with registration OKL431 had left Puerto Santander heading for the departmental capital when it was intercepted by illegal armed actors in the afternoon. The attack began with the detonation of an improvised explosive device, followed by harassment with rifle fire that caused panic among residents in the area who witnessed the incident.
Major Vargas Manrique and patrol officer Holguer Jaimes, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the attack, were unharmed. Images captured by witnesses show that the left side of the pick-up truck was destroyed in approximately 80% of its structure.
One of the determining factors in the two uniformed officers escaping without injury was the driver's immediate reaction: patrol officer Jaimes managed to manoeuvre the vehicle and reach one of the main roads in the Puerto Santander municipality, where the truck was left parked. "They were unharmed, and by a miracle," authorities stated, though they attributed the protection mainly to the vehicle's armoured plating.
Following the attack, a special commission from the National Police was deployed to the area. The illegal group ELN operates in the area, but so far no official source has identified that armed actor as responsible for the attack. Ongoing investigations will need to establish who carried out the incident.
Source: Google News CO — Crime