Car Bombing Strikes Police Academy, Killing at Least 21 in Colombia

South and Central America have long been the breeding grounds of violent radical revolutionary groups due to corrupt governance and virtually no power of the common people. The United States fails to see this as a direct threat here, but complacent Americans tend to view the world, and their country, through rose-colored glasses. In the Age of Trump, authoritarianism is proceeding with little check or balance via a narcissistic sociopath and his proxy Republican Congress under McConnell. A new Democratic House will slow this progress but cannot stop it and the targeted overthrow of the rule of law without a Come to Jesus moment of the Republicans. Barring a rational epiphany, WE may very well be faced with a Columbia/Venezuela/Cuba/Argentina/El Salvador/Nicaragua-like violence. There is just so far that decent Americans can be pushed before they are forced to take action against an oppressive, unresponsive, lying, criminal government. Just an observation, of course, but we have been here before - it is the root of our Declaration of Independence. We cannot have a narcissistic moron in our pilot's seat and expect anything less. The sooner we put a competent grown up human in the White House, the less is the chance of self-destruction.

The author omitted all the killings of labor leaders, agrarian reformers, environmental advocates, and women seeking civil rights by the police and death squads in Columbia since the treaty with FARC was signed. The return of state sanctioned terrorism is the real story in Colombia, but according to this article, and the word of a reactionary president, only defense against police and encomienda violence is labeled terrorist.

It would be hard for the NYT to assert that Ms. Poussain´s opinion reflects the sentiment of the majority of the colombian population. 24 hours after this cowardly and unjustified terrorist attack, talking to people you will find that most colombians agree that this attack forfeits any possibility of a negotiation with the group responsible for this act. Remember: it took 50 years for colombian society to ome to terms and agree to sign a peace treaty with the FARC, and that only after the guerrilla group renounced to attacking the population and execute terrorist acts.

Colombia is not returning back to the "Old Bad Days" as the NYT is asking in its article. Those bad days never left, it was just a big marketing strategy of president Santos and his allies to get a very expensive Noble Prize for the worst president in centuries of Colombian history and give the country to the FARC guerrilla (communist guerrilla and the biggest drug cartel). The violence never ended, and by the contrary it is worse than before

I hope this is not a return to the 90's. Colombians are good and hardworking people. They don't need this. Hopefully, this is a one-time incident, and the government, and whomever did this, can solve issues peacefully.

This was a purposeful and arbitrary killing, committed by a group who claims to seek peace... or committed by another group which has already signed a peace deal with full amnesty. The victims were young police officers-in-training, family members, and attendees to a promotion ceremony. As is the case now in Colombia, in exchange for "peace" these hardcore killers may also someday be given amnesty, respect, government positions, and suffer little or no penalty for their many murders committed. As do the leaders of the former guerrillas, they also will be laughing at victims' family members. As head of government, what would you do?

Very sad. Unfortunately there is no peace possible with these terrorist groups.

You fail to mention that after the peace treaty was signed police began a terrorist campaign against those who were guaranteed no reprisals. It’s these death squads that have reignited the violence.

Heartbreaking...