Cali Bombings 2025: A City in the Crosshairs of Colombia’s Conflict

Cali Under Attack

“Why are there still bombs going off in Colombia in 2025? Is Colombia becoming as dangerous as it was in the 80s and 90s?”

The question many have asked after August 21st, 2025. On that Thursday, a truck loaded with two large cylinder bombs detonated outside the Marco Fidel Suárez military aviation school in Cali. The explosion killed six people and left over 80 injured.1

Authorities later confirmed a second truck filled with gas canisters was discovered and safely neutralized. Meanwhile, in Antioquia, an explosive-laden drone brought down a police Black Hawk helicopter, killing more than a dozen officers in the same 24-hour window.2

President Gustavo Petro3 quickly pointed to dissident factions of the FARC4—notably the Estado Mayor Central (EMC)5 and the Carlos Patiño Front—as responsible. The government launched Operation Sultana, a security surge aimed at tracking high-value targets and restoring calm.6

Cali’s Unfortunate Geography

Cali isn’t just Colombia’s third-largest city; it’s a city caught in some important geography. It sits just north of El Cauca7, one of the most entrenched drug-producing regions, and only two hours from Buenaventura, Colombia’s most important Pacific port.8

That means contraband flows here. And when the state pushes back, guerrilla remnants and narco-armed groups strike Cali—it’s the closest big target.

A Century of Conflict, A Cycle That Endures

Colombia’s violence isn’t new. For over 100 years, the country has endured political conflict between left-wing guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries.

The cocaine boom of the 70s and 80s changed everything. Once armed groups discovered drug profits, they gained money, weapons, and endless recruits. Some still cloak themselves in political rhetoric, but many operate openly as cartels.

But let’s be clear: Colombia didn’t create the boom alone. The United States was both the largest consumer of cocaine and a key player in shaping the conflict.

  • Demand: By the late 70s and 80s, U.S. appetite for cocaine exploded. From Hollywood parties to Wall Street boardrooms, cocaine was glamorized, normalized, and consumed at unprecedented levels. That demand funneled billions of U.S. dollars directly into Colombian groups, fueling their war machines.
  • Policy Response: Washington’s answer was the “War on Drugs.” Billions in U.S. aid flowed to Colombian police and military forces, funding crop eradication and militarized raids. Instead of reducing violence, this often escalated it. Cartels retaliated with assassinations, bombings, and terror campaigns in Colombian cities.

The playbook hasn’t changed much: when the Colombian military—often backed by U.S. funding and intelligence—goes on the offensive, the response is retaliatory bombings in urban centers. The cycle, born of U.S. demand and reinforced by U.S. policy, still reverberates in Colombia today.

Everyday Resilience vs. Global Pause

Talking to locals after the bombing, one distinction was clear.

In the U.S., when there is a mass shooting or terrorist attack, life often stops. News coverage overwhelms the airwaves, vigils form, schools close, and communities pour resources into grieving.

But in Cali? The next morning, the arepa cart vendor simply moved her stand one block over. Shops reopened. Buses ran. People didn’t pause—they couldn’t.

As El País reported, neighborhoods like La Base woke up “militarized” yet still bustling, with families cleaning up rubble and thanking God they were alive.9

This isn’t denial—it’s resilience. The people of Cali have adapted to trauma because life for them leaves no other choice.

It was conflicting to experience as someone of caleño descent. I was extremely proud of this resilience—yet grieving, knowing many have no luxury to dwell in pain. Their focus is their next meal, their next sale, keeping their children fed. Life doesn’t stop here; it pushes forward, always.

Are We Back in the 80s and 90s?

This is the central question. The bombs, the casualties, the fear—it feels like history repeating itself.

Yet, there are differences:

  • Violence today is fragmented, carried out by smaller splinter groups rather than the well established cartels of the past.
  • The Colombian state is stronger, with more intelligence capacity and international partnerships.
  • Civil society and global attention provide a different kind of accountability.

But for the people of Cali, distinctions matter little when another bomb destroys their streets.

Closing Reflections

So, where does this leave us? Amid political violence, mounting attacks, and unresolved grievances, Cali stands resilient.

Yet resilience alone can’t insulate the city nor the country from the storm reverberating across Colombia.

  • In June 2025, Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, a rising figure from the conservative Democratic Centre party, was shot during a campaign rally in Bogotá. He died two months later, becoming the first presidential hopeful assassinated in over three decades—a stark echo of Colombia’s darkest political eras.10
  • Meanwhile, President Gustavo Petro, who governs a deeply divided country, remains a polarizing figure. His “total peace” agenda struggles against outbreaks of violence from armed groups who reject demobilization.11
  • And the August 21 attacks—a car bomb in Cali and a drone strike that downed a police helicopter in Antioquia—revealed just how far away “peace” still seems. These coordinated assaults by FARC dissidents underscore the country’s fragility.12

This confluence of political turmoil and violence suggests that Cali’s resilience may soon be tested again—not because the people falter, but because the conflict does not relent.

Footnotes

  1. El País (Spain) – “Un camión bomba estalla en Cali y deja al menos 6 muertos y 60 heridos” (Aug 21, 2025) ↩

  2. Reuters – “At least 18 die in Colombia in two attacks attributed to FARC dissidents” (Aug 22, 2025) ↩

  3. Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia since 2022. ↩

  4. FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), once the largest guerrilla group; formally demobilized in 2016, but several dissident factions remain active. ↩

  5. EMC (Estado Mayor Central), a key FARC dissident faction still involved in armed conflict and narcotrafficking. ↩

  6. Le Monde – “Colombia launches security operation after twin attacks kill 19” (Aug 23, 2025) ↩

  7. El Cauca, a southwestern Colombian department, long a hub for coca cultivation and armed group activity. ↩

  8. Buenaventura, Colombia’s largest Pacific port and a strategic corridor for legal and illegal trade. ↩

  9. El País – “El temor a la guerra revive en Cali tras el atentado” (Aug 23, 2025) ↩

  10. On June 7, 2025, Senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot at a campaign event in Bogotá and later died on August 11, 2025. See AP coverage: AP News — death and AP News — sentencing of teen shooter, plus background from El País: English edition. ↩

  11. AP News on the memorial and political fallout: Colombians bid farewell to presidential hopeful Uribe. ↩

  12. On Aug 21, 2025, Cali suffered a truck bombing near the Marco Fidel Suárez base, and in Antioquia a police helicopter was brought down — both attributed to FARC dissidents. See Reuters and El País English recap. ↩