Colombia's Defense Minister Guillermo Botero stated Friday that ELN rebel group was behind the recent car bomb attack on a police academy that killed at least 21 and injured 68.
"Those lives were claimed by the National Liberation Army's terrorist attack," Botero said at a press conference in Bogota.
He added that the Colombian authorities had identified the perpetrator as 56-year-old Jose Aldemar Rojas Rodriguez, who was thought to have direct links to the ELN, and specified that he died in the incident.
Colombian Attorney General Nestor Humberto Martinez, in turn, named Colombian citizen Ricardo Carvajal, who was detained shortly after the attack, as a second plotter.
"Carvajal will be charged with murder and terrorism," Martinez indicated.
Earlier in the day a man suspected of involvement in the attack was reportedly detained in the city. The man, about 50 years old, was detained Friday morning in downtown Bogota, Noticias Caracol reported.
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Colombian authorities have established that 56-year-old José Aldemar Rojas was driving the car. He died, and the motives of his actions are not yet known. According to the latest data, 20 people died as a result of the explosion and another 68 were injured.
Colombian President Ivan Duque has declared a three-day mourning for the victims of the terrorist attack.
The National Liberation Army (ELN), mentioned by the defence minister, consists of some 2,000 fighters and considered to be a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union. In February 2017 the group started peace talks with the government of former President Juan Manuel Santos, but the negotiations have been put on hold by President Ivan Duque.
