An explosive device kills 13 and injures 38 on a bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists

BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — An explosive device killed 13 people traveling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.

Octavio Guzmán, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was traveling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.

Gen. Hugo López, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces,told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Iván Mordisco” — one of Colombia’s most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.

Neither Iván Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.

“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.

The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which López said has only affected civilians.

They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.

On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.

The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilization of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.

“These criminals seek to instill fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sánchez said on X.

Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”

According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.

The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than $14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.

The covered body of a victim lies among vehicles damaged in an attack on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, Saturday, April 25, 2026, where authorities said at least a dozen people were killed and blamed dissident groups of the former FARC rebels. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

The covered body of a victim lies among vehicles damaged in an attack on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, Saturday, April 25, 2026, where authorities said at least a dozen people were killed and blamed dissident groups of the former FARC rebels. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

People gather around a bus hit by an explosive device on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, Saturday, April 25, 2026, after an attack blamed by authorities on dissident groups of the former FARC rebels killed at least a dozen people. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

People gather around a bus hit by an explosive device on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, Saturday, April 25, 2026, after an attack blamed by authorities on dissident groups of the former FARC rebels killed at least a dozen people. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

People gather around vehicles damaged in an attack on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, Saturday, April 25, 2026, that killed at least a dozen people and authorities blamed on dissident groups of the former FARC rebels. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Relatives of victims embrace in front of a bus hit by an explosive device on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, Saturday, April 25, 2026, after an attack blamed by authorities on dissident groups of the former FARC rebels killed at least a dozen people. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Donald Trump's expected attendance at Saturday's annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington for his first time as president will put his administration's often-contentious relationship with the press on full public display.

Trump will be watched closely at the event held by the organization of reporters who cover him and his administration. Past presidents who have attended have generally spoken about the importance of free speech and the First Amendment, adding in some light roasts about individual journalists.

The Republican president did not attend during his first term or the first year of his second. He came as a guest in 2011, sitting in the audience as President Barack Obama, a Democrat, made some jokes about the New York real estate developer. Trump also attended as a private citizen in 2015.

Past dinners have also featured comedians who poke at presidents. This year, the group opted to hire mentalist Oz Pearlman as the featured entertainment.

Trump’s planned appearance is rekindling a longer running debate about the dinner and events like it — in particular, whether it is poor form for journalists to be seen socializing with the people they cover. The New York Times, for example, stopped attending the dinner more than a decade ago for that reason.

“What was once (a fairly long time ago) a well-intended night of fundraising and camaraderie among professional adversaries is now simply a bad look,” wrote Kelly McBride, ethics expert at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank.

Between berating individual reporters, fighting organizations like the Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press in court and restricting press access to the Pentagon, the administration’s animus toward journalists has been a fixture of Trump’s second term.

On the eve of the dinner, nearly 500 retired journalists signed a petition calling on the association "to forcefully demonstrate opposition to President Trump’s efforts to trample freedom of the press.”

“The White House Correspondents’ dinner reinforces the importance of the First Amendment in our democracy," said the WHCA president, Weijia Jiang, a CBS News reporter. "As we mark America’s 250th birthday, our choice to gather as journalists, newsmakers and the president in the same room is a reminder of what a free press means to this country and why it must endure. Not for the media or the president, but for the people who depend on it.”

Veteran reporter Manu Raju of CNN, as he entered the Washington Hilton for the dinner, said it was not his role to express his opinion on Trump's relationship with the press. “I'm not an activist,” he said. “My job is not to protest.”

A few dozen protesters stood across the hotel. One was dressed in a prison uniform, wearing a Pete Hegseth mask and red gloves. Another carried a sign saying “Journalism is dead.”

Many reporters who attend consider it a valuable opportunity to get story ideas and establish personal connections with those in government, one that may pay dividends with returned telephone calls in the future.

Journalists often invite sources as guests at the dinner. It will be noticed Saturday whether administration officials who have also expressed hostility to the press will attend, and with whom they will be sitting. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was invited by the New York Post; Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were NBC guests.

The Associated Press invited a former Trump official that it sued last year. Taylor Budowich, a former White House deputy chief of staff who crafted communications policy, was a named defendant last year when the AP sued the administration after it reduced its access to the president because the news outlet did not follow Trump's lead in renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

“We maintain professional relationships with people across the political spectrum because we are nonpartisan by design — focused on reporting the facts in the public's interest,” AP spokesman Patrick Maks said.

The White House correspondents will also hand out awards for exemplary reporting. That includes some stories that displeased Trump, such as one from the Journal about a birthday message Trump once sent to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The story led to a presidential lawsuit.

AP correspondent Sagar Meghani in Washington contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin speaks to the media after being removed from the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

People are seen outside of the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

President Donald Trump's motorcade arrives at the White House Correspondents Dinner at the Washington Hilton, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

A woman is escorted from the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach Fla., Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)