Former minister Fernando Londoño, who was the target of Tuesday’s terrorist attack in Bogota, blamed Colombia’s largest guerrilla group, the FARC, for the bombing that killed two members of his entourage and injured dozens more.
Interviewed from his hospital bed for his radio program, “The Hour of Truth,” the ex-Interior Minister spoke out for the first time since the bombing.
“It pains me that the Farc put to use this new technique of terror(…)They left no one the opportunity for defense,” he said referring to the perpatrators use of an explosive device that authorities suspect was fastened to the politician’s armored car using magnets or another adhesive substance, a method unseen in Colombia before.
Londoño has been the target of FARC threats in the past. Files extracted from the rebel group’s computers detailed plans to use magnets when planting explosive devices, according to Andres Villamizar, the director of the National Protection Unit.
The former Interior Minister under ex-President Alvaro Uribe confessed he has a “broken heart” following the fatal incident. “The deaths of my bodyguard and my driver have been the toughest,” he confessed. Rosemburg Bombano and Ricardo Rodriguez were “wonderful men, credibly able who honorably faced their fate,” he added.
Londoño, who is recovering from a lacerated lung and ruptured eardrum, did not shy away from criticizing the constitutional reform proposed by President Juan Manuel Santos’ administration, known as the “Legal Framework for Peace.” The bill would provide legal benefits for demobilized paramilitaries and guerrillas, even allowing them to hold positions in public office.
“We are losing the country,” he said. “We are losing Colombia. We do not agree with rules that allow for impunity.”
“It can be supposed that my case continues on the path [of impunity] that many others of greater importance have gone down, but it’s no less impactful on the conscience of citizens,” he added.
Police have released sketches of seven suspects in the attack from security footage and eyewitness testimonies.