Truck Bomb in Planadas Kills Four Including Infant, Damages Hospital

A dump truck loaded with explosive-filled cylinders detonated late on November 1 in the Aeropuerto neighborhood of Planadas, Tolima department, Colombia, killing four civilians, including a two-month-old baby girl, and wounding about 15 others.

Tolima Governor Adriana Magali Matiz confirmed the toll in statements posted on X and in interviews with local radio. She said the attack targeted a nearby military base but the vehicle exploded prematurely, destroying roughly 80 percent of the local hospital and damaging homes across three blocks.

The blast occurred near the 17th Infantry Battalion. Authorities imposed a curfew in the municipality. Matiz identified the perpetrators as the Gerónimo Galeano Front, a dissident faction of the former FARC guerrilla group. The front has carried out recent attacks on security forces in southern Tolima and neighboring Huila, where a motorcycle bomb killed one police officer and injured six on November 1.

President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office earlier in 2026 and ordered a broader offensive against armed groups, has not yet commented directly on the Planadas incident. He previously condemned the Huila attack. Local officials reported that drones carrying explosives were also observed over the town before the truck detonation.

The hospital, Hospital Centro E.S.E. Planadas, lost much of its structure. Patients and staff were evacuated amid the debris. Matiz called the strike “a vile and criminal act” that crossed a line by endangering civilians and soldiers alike.

Colombia’s conflict with FARC remnants has persisted after the 2016 peace deal. Dissident fronts continue to control corridors in the south for drug trafficking and other illicit economies. The Planadas bombing marks one of the deadliest civilian-targeted attacks in Tolima this year and follows a pattern of retaliation against the government’s recent military pressure.

Investigators are examining the wreckage of the truck and reviewing security camera footage that captured the moment of the explosion. No arrests have been announced. The health ministry confirmed the four deaths and noted extensive damage to medical facilities that will require temporary relocation of services.

The incident raises questions about the reach of armed groups in rural departments even as national forces intensify operations. For residents of Planadas, the immediate task is clearing rubble and restoring basic medical capacity while the curfew remains in place.