Bomb Blast in Colombian City Kills 20 People, Wounds 90
A powerful bomb ripped through a street party in the northwestern city of Medellin on Saturday, killing at least 20 people and wounding 90 others, police said. One suspect was arrested.
The explosion occurred one block away from a police barracks. Police arrested a suspect carrying five cans of gunpowder, but the motive for the attack was not immediately known.
Police Col. Victor Manuel Paez said a 22-pound bomb was placed beneath a sculpture of internationally known artist Fernando Botero in Medellin’s San Antonio park.
Red Cross officials were treating the injured, and ambulances were rushing victims to nearby hospitals.
Authorities have feared that drug traffickers angered by Friday’s arrest of the Cali drug cartel’s reputed leader, Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, and recent raids on their hide-outs and properties could launch violent revenge attacks.
The cartel is based, however, in Cali. It has less influence in Medellin, 240 miles to the north. Medellin was the home of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, who waged a 10-year war against the state before security forces killed him in December, 1993.
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