Monday 23 July 2012

FARC bomb Colombian pipeline, oil pours into river

Suspected members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) bombed a pipeline in the department of Boyacá in northern Colombia on 21 July, provoking crude oil to pour into a nearby river and threatening waterways in Colombia and Venezuela, Europa Press reported on 23 July, citing local media reports and official declarations. The pipeline was blown up near La Blanquita in the municipality of Cubará, provoking a crude spill into the Róyota river, a tributary of the Arauca, which flows into Venezuela. Several aqueducts were said to be threatened, though troops were working to contain the oil with sandbags, Colombia's Mines Minister Mauricio Cárdenas Santamaría declared. He said the nation rejected such "acts of terrorism."