An explosion rocked Bogotá’s San Bernardo neighborhood on the night of Wednesday, March 12, leaving three dead and nine injured. Authorities confirmed the incident was caused by a grenade, which detonated near the Bicentenario station of TransMilenio, at the intersection of Carrera Décima and Calle 3. The Santa Fe locality is known for having a significant homeless population, some of whom were reportedly near the blast when it occurred.
The explosion is believed to be part of an ongoing territorial dispute between two local criminal groups, ‘Los Venecos’ and ‘Los Costeños,’ who have been fighting over control of the drug trade in the center of Bogotá. According to General Giovanni Cristancho, commander of the Bogotá Metropolitan Police, the attack was targeted at rival gangs also involved in the extortion of small businesses. “These two groups are engaged in a violent battle for the sale of narcotics in San Bernardo,” stated General Cristancho.
The explosion prompted an immediate response from the Bogotá Metropolitan Police and emergency services. Police units and ambulances were swiftly deployed to the scene to assist the victims. At the same time, members of the National Army arrived to help secure the area and cordon off the vicinity. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the grenade used in the attack was an improvised device or a standard explosive.
Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán condemned the attack, emphasizing that the city would not tolerate the violence perpetrated by criminal organizations in San Bernardo. In a statement posted on his social media account, Galán noted that the explosion was part of a broader pattern of violence in the neighborhood, driven by the ongoing turf wars that affect Bogotá’s downtown core and nearby localities. “This new attack, like previous ones in the same area, is a direct response from criminal groups seeking to survive the sustained pressure from the police on their structures,” he stated.
Galán also highlighted the city’s ongoing efforts to restore order and reduce criminal activity in the area. “We are recovering security and public spaces in Bogotá,” he said in a video accompanying his statement. The mayor has ordered the Bogotá Metropolitan Police to increase their operations in the area and intensify efforts to capture the leaders of these criminal groups and dismantle their operations.
In the past month, law enforcement in San Bernardo has conducted several raids and operations to combat drug trafficking and criminal violence. According to the Bogotá Police, authorities have executed 15 raids in the neighborhood, resulting in 120 arrests of drug dealers and gang leaders. In addition, police seized more than 20,000 doses of narcotics, grenades, ammunition, and stolen motorcycles from the area. These actions form part of an ongoing crackdown on the criminal activities plaguing the neighborhood.
“The police will not stop acting in San Bernardo until we recover the area from these violent groups,” Mayor Galán stressed in his statement.
This latest explosion is the third incident in San Bernardo in less than a month. On February 19, a grenade exploded on Calle 3, killing one person and injuring seven others. Just days later, on February 23, another grenade blast was reported on Carrera Décima, near Calle 6. Police managed to apprehend a suspect in connection with the second blast, though no fatalities occurred. Two people were treated for minor injuries from the explosion.
While the locality of Santa Fe is a hotspot for micro-trafficking and prostitution, the district believes that the increased presence of Military Police and soldiers will restore some degree of security to this vulnerable community just several blocks south of historic La Candelaria. Security operations are also focused on targeting the trade in stolen cellphones that end up on the streets of San Bernardo.
With drug trafficking continuing to fuel much of the urban violence, city authorities are under pressure to maintain control and end the wave of violence that has claimed too many lives in recent weeks.
