Colombian President Santos Blames ELN Guerrillas For Explosions That Injured 8 People
The Colombian capital, Bogata, suffered two explosions on Thursday, injuring at least eight people.
According to CNN, the explosions occurred outside the offices of the Porvenir pension fund management company.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has blamed the blasts on the Marxist guerrilla group ELN (Ejército de Liberación Nacional). Speaking on Colombian state-run television, Santos said, "The information that we have now indicates the perpetrators are the ELN guerrillas and there is evidence to indicate this."
The president assured the viewing audience that security measures were being reinforced in Bogota due to the twin attacks.
Before Santos blamed the ELN for the attacks, Colombian Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas called the explosions "terrorist acts" and said the government was offering a reward of up to 100 million pesos ($38,000) for information regarding who was behind the blasts.
No one was killed in the attacks, and the injuries were not life-threatening.
After FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), the ELN is the second-largest rebel group in Colombia. The country has been engaged in peace talks with FARC since 2012.
In May FARC urged the government to include the ELN group in peace talks as well.
Humberto De la Calle, Colombia's top negotiator in peace talks with FARC, said that unless they soon displayed more commitment to finding a resolution, the nation could walk away from negotiations.
"I want to tell the FARC in all seriousness, this could end. Some day, it's probable that they won't find us around the table in Havana," De la Calle said, according to Al Jazeera.
"The harsh truth is that Colombians don't believe in the peace process."
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com