Pope Leo XIV expressed this Wednesday his concern about the episodes of violence that have taken place in southwestern Colombia since last weekend. In a general audience at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, the pontiff delivered a brief message in Spanish, later shared on his social networks, in which he also called to reject all forms of violence. “With pain and concern, I have received news of the tragic situation of violence afflicting the southwest region of Colombia, which has caused serious loss of human lives,” said the Pope, who expressed his closeness to the victims and urged “to reject any form of violence and decisively choose the path of peace.”
With pain and concern, I have received news of the tragic situation of violence afflicting the southwest region of #Colombia, which has caused serious loss of human lives. I express my closeness in prayer to the victims and their families, and I urge everyone to reject…
— Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex_es) April 29, 2026
The pontiff sends his message at a time of deteriorating security in some regions of Colombia. The departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca, in the southwest, have suffered the most brutal impacts in recent days. Last Friday, a failed attack against an Army battalion left an atmosphere of unease in Cali, hours before an explosion occurred in the neighboring municipality of Palmira. The next day, on the Pan-American highway, already in the department of Cauca, an explosion with bomb cylinders caused the death of more than 20 people, in the deadliest attack with civilian victims in the country in recent decades.
This Tuesday, authorities captured José Álex Vintocó, alias Mi Pez, in a rural area of Palmira, accused of being one of the alleged perpetrators of the attack on the Pan-American highway. Justice accuses him of being the leader of the Dagoberto Ramos structure of the dissidents of the former FARC, which has an armed presence in both Valle and Cauca. According to information from the authorities, Vintocó works very closely with Iván Jacobo Idrobo, accused of being the leader in the southwest of the country of the Central General Staff (EMC), the dissident group led by Iván Mordisco.
Official information also indicates that Mi Pez is apparently involved in at least 40 violent actions against the civilian population and public forces that have occurred in recent weeks. In the words of the Minister of Defense, Pedro Sánchez, Vintocó is “one of the main people responsible for orchestrating the massacre of peasants, women, children, and social leaders in the southwest of the country, and the main leader of one of the most dangerous structures in northern Cauca.”
The escalation of violence and uncertainty in those departments of the southwest occurs in an electoral context that feeds on all that situation, but also unfolds amid a tense atmosphere of open confrontation, aggravated by versions and rumors of possible attacks against presidential candidates.
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