Ecuador seized a “significant shipment” of explosive material that was being transported from the border with Peru to Colombia to be used in “terrorist acts,” police said Sunday (August 24, 2025).

Colombia is experiencing its worst violence crisis in a decade due to the onslaught of guerrillas and mafias that profit from drug trafficking, extortion, and illegal mining. On Thursday, two attacks by rebel groups left 19 dead and more than 60 injured, including civilians and uniformed personnel.

Ecuadorian police said they seized 3,750 cartridges of explosive emulsion and 25,000 meters of detonating cord in an operation on the border between the two countries, which left two Ecuadorians detained. “We identified explosive material that was intended to be used to carry out terrorist acts in Colombia,” X stated on the social network.

The “significant” shipment of explosives was being transported in a truck that left the coastal province of El Oro (southwest and bordering Peru) towards the Andean province of Carchi (north and bordering Colombia), where the operation took place.

On Thursday, a truck bomb exploded in front of the military aviation school in Cali, the third most populous city in Colombia, leaving six civilians dead and more than 60 others injured.

That same day, a police helicopter was shot down with a drone and rifles in the department of Antioquia, killing 13 officers.

Authorities attribute the attacks to two dissident groups of the FARC, at war with each other, that rejected the peace agreement signed in 2016 with the bulk of that guerrilla group.