Nine killed as cocaine lab explodes

At least nine people were killed on Friday after a cocaine laboratory exploded in Colombia’s southwest, police have confirmed.

The explosion occurred in the Narino department along the Pacific coast, a major cocaine-producing region inhabited by the Indigenous Awa community and plagued by the presence of illegal armed groups. Eight other people were injured in the incident.

Police said the victims were working for the National Coordinator Bolivarian Army, a dissident faction of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

According to police colonel John Jairo Urrea, preliminary findings showed that a gas cylinder being used in the drug production process exploded due to human error, triggering a fire that engulfed the facility within seconds.

In a statement, the armed group confirmed the cause of the blast, attributing it to mishandling of gas cylinders. The group rejected the 2016 peace accord that ended decades of conflict with the FARC but remains in dialogue with the government of President Gustavo Petro.

Narino has long been a key hub for cocaine trafficking to the United States, with drug networks reportedly strengthening their influence in the area with support from Mexican cartels.

The incident comes amid rising regional tensions over drug trafficking. Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa recently imposed a 30 per cent tariff on Colombian imports, accusing Petro’s government of failing to curb cross-border drug smuggling. Colombia responded with a reciprocal tariff.

President Petro, who has also faced criticism from the United States over drug control efforts, is scheduled to visit Washington on February 3 for talks with US President Donald Trump.