By Andrew Kariuki
At least nine people were killed and eight others injured after an explosion at a cocaine laboratory on Colombia’s Pacific coast, police have confirmed.
The blast occurred in Narino department, a major cocaine-producing region in southwestern Colombia that is home to the Indigenous Awa community and is known for the presence of illegal armed groups.
Authorities said the victims were working for the National Coordinator Bolivarian Army, a dissident faction that split from the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla movement.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the explosion was triggered by a gas cylinder used in the production of cocaine.
Police Colonel John Jairo Urrea told local media that the incident was likely caused by human error during the handling of the cylinder.
In a statement, the armed group acknowledged that improper handling of gas cylinders led to the fire that destroyed the facility within seconds.
The National Coordinator Bolivarian Army rejected the 2016 peace agreement that ended decades of conflict between the Colombian government and FARC.
The group remains in talks with the government of President Gustavo Petro.
Narino has long been a key corridor for cocaine trafficking to the United States, with drug networks strengthening their influence in the region, often with support from Mexican cartels.
The incident comes amid rising regional tensions over drug trafficking.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa recently imposed a 30 percent tariff on Colombian imports, accusing Colombia of failing to curb drug flows across the border.
President Petro responded with similar measures and defended his government’s anti-drug efforts.
President Petro is expected to travel to Washington on February 3 for talks with US President Donald Trump, following criticism from the US over Colombia’s handling of drug trafficking.
