Colombia security alert as gas cylinders stolen and explosives depot destroyed

Authorities in Colombia have issued alerts following the theft of over 100 gas cylinders in the Teorama region of Catatumbo. An armed individual, allegedly a member of the National Liberation Army (ELN), intercepted a distribution truck in the San Pablo district, forcing the driver to unload 100 15-kilogram gas canisters. Security forces and police are currently searching for the cargo, fearing the cylinders may be repurposed into improvised explosive devices for terrorist attacks.

In a separate operation in La Macarena, Meta, the Colombian National Army neutralized an illegal explosives depot in the Bocana Caño Gringo area. Troops discovered 101 explosive devices, 130 non-electric detonators, 11 cylinders potentially used as launchers, and eight containers of black powder. Preliminary investigations suggest the materials belonged to the Ever Castro structure of the Jorge Suárez Briceño Block, a residual armed group. Many of the recovered devices were already primed and connected to electrical detonators, posing an immediate risk to the local population.