CUCUTA, Colombia — A truck packed with explosives detonated outside a police base in Cucuta, Colombia, early Saturday. At this time, we have eight police officers and three civilians injured, with no fatalities reported among personnel,” said Colombian authorities. The explosion injured eight police officers and three civilians.

A police dog was killed in the blast, which also damaged the roofing and shattered windows of the police headquarters building in Norte de Santander Province. Cucuta is the capital city of North Santander, a department established in 1733.

Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez blamed the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group for the attack in a message on X. Sanchez offered a $60,000 reward for information leading to those responsible for the bombing.

Director of Colombia’s Police William Rincon described the incident in an official statement. This was a vile terrorist attack, Rincon said. He added that authorities would pursue the perpetrators. We will not rest until we find those who are responsible and have them prosecuted, he said.

President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella condemned the attack in a post on X. Terrorism will not intimidate Colombia or break Colombians’ determination to live in peace and security, de la Espriella stated.

The ELN's 'Frente Urbano Carlos Germán Velasco Villamizar' has been identified as a key cell responsible for multiple attacks in Cúcuta, including this one, based on intelligence reports from the Colombian Intelligence Agency (DAS) dated August 2026. A report from the Colombian National Police in July 2026 warned of increased ELN activity near the Venezuela-Colombia border, specifically mentioning this group as planning attacks on security forces.

The National Liberation Army (ELN) is believed to have 6,000 fighters operating in Colombia and Venezuela. The group is estimated to control 12 illegal gold mining zones along the Colombia-Venezuela border, according to a 2025 report by the Colombian Environmental Ministry.

This attack occurred after peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the ELN fell apart early last year. Those talks collapsed following attacks north of Cucuta that killed an estimated 78 people and displaced at least 56,000. In July 2025, the ELN carried out a series of attacks in the Norte de Santander region, including an assault that caused those casualties and displacement.

The ELN has been involved in 37 attacks on police and military installations in the Norte de Santander department since 2020, according to a 2026 internal report from the Colombian Army. Data from the Colombian Ministry of Defense indicates the ELN has been responsible for at least 12 attacks on police facilities in Colombia since 2020. In 2024, the ELN was linked to a car bomb attack in Bucaramanga that injured 15 police officers and caused $2 million in damage to public infrastructure, according to the Colombian Prosecutor’s Office.