# Donkey-borne explosive kills soldier and wounds two in Colombia’s Valdivia
A soldier was killed and two others were wounded after an explosive device hidden in a donkey detonated in rural Valdivia, Antioquia, in an attack Colombian authorities attributed to the ELN. The incident took place in the Las Cruces sector of the Las Alemanias village, where troops were operating when the blast occurred.
The report identifies the dead serviceman as Subteniente Jhonatan Monsalve Moreno and says the injured soldiers were Juan Rosso Ramos and Edwin Muñoz Vargas. One of the wounded remained in critical condition. The attack was described by officials as the work of members of the ELN’s self-styled “Héroes de Tarazá” company.
The use of an animal packed with explosives is among the most disturbing details in the packet. It suggests a deliberate attempt to conceal an attack in a way that could approach a military position without immediately raising suspicion. That tactic, according to the report, was intended to hit a platoon of uniformed personnel.
The bombing did not end with the first blast. The article says troops were then harassed by ELN members after the detonation, and military operations continued in northern Antioquia. That means the attack formed part of an active confrontation rather than a single isolated explosion. It also suggests authorities were still trying to secure the area after the casualties were reported.
Local and regional officials quickly framed the attack as part of a wider public-security problem. The mayor of Valdivia linked it to a commemorative date used by the armed group each year, saying military alerts had already been raised because of the risk of attacks. Antioquia’s governor condemned the violence and attacked the government’s peace strategy in political comments quoted in the report.
The packet also says the case brought the number of uniformed personnel killed by illegal armed groups in Antioquia to 19 so far this year. That figure, if accurate, points to a steep security toll in the department and suggests the attack is part of a broader pattern of violence against the state’s security forces.
For Colombia’s military, the immediate challenge after an attack of this kind is usually twofold: stabilize the wounded and prevent a second strike in the same area. For civilians in nearby rural communities, such incidents also create fear, limit movement and raise the risk that roads and farms become militarized zones.
The report does not give an independent confirmation of the ELN attribution, nor does it provide a broader official casualty review beyond the three service members named. But it does show that the attack was being treated by Colombian officials as an ELN operation with a clear military target and significant symbolic weight.
Event date: 2025-07-09
