An unidentified criminal group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a convoy of mining company Drummons that injured six workers, reported Caracol Radio Wednesday.
Authorities now have under their control an alleged recording of a phone call between the director of international mining company Drummond and a man who identified himself as a member of a criminal band who attributed the attack to his group.
The incident occurred Tuesday in the municipality of Codazzi in the northern Cesar department where a group of heavily armed men opened fire on buses carrying workers for Drummond, leaving at least six employees of the company hurt.
During the call, the criminal asked the director for a considerable amount of money to avoid future attacks against the infrastructure and workers of Drummond.
The interception of the extorsive phone call is motive for investigation though and authorities have still not attributed the act to any specific group, nor have they ruled out the possibility that it was FARC guerrillas who authorized the attack.
The U.S. based Drummond Company is primarily engaged in the business of mining, purchasing, processing and selling of coal and coal derivatives. The mining company is based in Alabama and has international operations in Colombia serving customers mainly in the United States and Europe.
Colombia has seen an increased amount of attacks on its infrastructure over the past year, especially in the oil and mining industries, which have been mostly attributed the country’s largest guerrilla group FARC and ELN rebels.