Colombia’s government on Tuesday offered a $279,500 reward for information in on a bomb attack on a former minister in Bogota, which left two people dead and as many as 51 wounded.
“We are offering a reward of up to 500 million pesos ($279,500) for information that leads to the capture of those responsible for this attack against the former minister Fernando Londoño,” President Juan Manuel Santos said in a statement following a security council meeting at the presidential palace.
Santos also announced the creation of a special committee to investigate the bombing, comprised of the minister and deputy minister of defense, each of the directors of intelligence of the armed forces and the mayor of Bogota.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Bogota’s police chief General Luis Eduardo Martinez has implicated the FARC.
The bomb exploded Tuesday morning in northern Bogota, at the corner of Caracas Avenue and 74th Street. Conflicting reports suggest it was either detonated on a bus or placed on the hood of the politician’s car by a man on a motorcycle.
Former minister Fernando Londoño was in “good and stable” condition after being treated for a mild head injury and trauma to his chest and ear at the Country Clinic, according to Medical Director of the clinic, Jorge Alberto Ospina.
He said 28 injured people were admitted to the clinic after the attack. Of those 23 have been discharged and 5 remain in the hospital.