Colombian authorities are investigating the hypothesis that FARC leader German Briseño, alias “Grannobles,” ordered Thursday’s Bogota car bomb.
Felipe Muñoz, director of Colombia’s intelligence and security agency DAS, told El Espectador that authorities do not have a definitive hypothesis on the perpetrators of the attack, but said that Grannobles is one of the FARC guerrillas in charge of orchestrating terrorist attacks on Bogota.
In a recording intercepted by the army before the second-round presidential election in June, the Grannobles orders a FARC unit to travel to Bogota to execute attacks.
According to El Espectador, Grannobles currently tops the list of suspects.
The bombing, which injured eighteen and damaged hundreds of buildings, including media offices in Bogota’s north business district, occurred when 50 kilos of the explosive anfo was detonated in a car at 5.30AM Thursday morning.
The blast was caught live on air by national broadcaster Caracol Radio, occurring close to their Bogota headquarters.
Police have not ruled out that five people, who were arrested August 6 in possession of almost 200 kilos of explosives, may be connected to the attack.
The incident comes less than a week after Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was sworn into office on August 7. Santos rushed to attend the scene Thursday morning in a bid to reassure Colombians that former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe‘s “democratic security” policy has not fallen by the wayside. He condemned the attack as cowardly.
To view photos of the damage caused by the bombing, click here.