Small bombs explode near US Embassy in Bogota upon Obama’s arrival in Colombia

Smalls bombs exploded on Friday (April 13) evening in Cartagena, as U.S. President Barack Obama and other leaders gathered for the VI Summit of the Americas, and in Bogota near the U.S. Embassy.                          

Two small bombs exploded in a suburb of Cartagena near a bus terminal, three hours after Obama arrived in then historic Caribbean city to attend the summit.                         

Some 1,000 km (600 miles) away, in the capital city of Bogota, another two small bombs exploded in Colombia's capital Bogota.                        

The explosives in Bogota were placed in a ditch in a residential area near the attorney general's office and the U.S. Embassy.                         

Police said they may have been a protest by leftist guerrillas against the presence of U.S. President Barack Obama in the country.                        

The explosions were a reminder of Colombia's recent bloody past of guerrilla and drug violence. In a decades-old, U.S.-backed military offensive, the Colombian government has beaten back but not yet defeated leftist rebels.       

Reuters