A police lieutenant was killed and three officers wounded Thursday while on patrol in the north of Colombia.
Lieutenant Rafael Robinson Rodríguez Calbache was allegedly on patrol in the early hours of the morning when he was killed by an explosive device in a rural area of Convencion, a municipality in the troubled Catatumbo region.
Three other officers were injured in the attack, and they are currently receiving medical treatment in Cucuta, the capital of Colombia’s Norte de Santander department.
Rodriguez is the second police officer to die in the area this week after a National Police lieutenant was assassinated near the town of Ocaña.
No possible suspects have been named by authorities at this time.
The Catatumbo region is one of Colombia’s most violent regions because — thanks to it’s proximity to the Venezuelan border — it has become a hotbed of guerrilla and drug trafficking activity.