The DAS Building bombing was a
truck bomb
A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles.
Car bombs can be roughly divided ...
attack in
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, at 7:30 am on December 6, 1989, targeting the
Administrative Department of Security
The Administrative Department of Security ( es, Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, DAS) was the security service agency of Colombia, which was also responsible for border and immigration services. It was dissolved on 31 October 2011 as par ...
(DAS) headquarters.
A
truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
parked near the building
explode
An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...
d, killing 57 people instantly and injuring 2,248. The bomb blast, an estimated 500 kg of
dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...
, destroyed 14 city blocks and destroyed more than 300 commercial properties. The last victim of the bombing died on April 27 1990. It was the deadliest car bomb attack in Latin America before being succeeded by the
AMIA bombing
The AMIA bombing occurred on 18 July 1994 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and targeted the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA; ), a Jewish Community Centre. Executed as a suicidal attack, a bomb-laden van was driven into the AMIA buildi ...
5 years later.
It is widely believed that the
Medellín Cartel
The Medellín Cartel ( es, Cartel de Medellín) was a powerful and highly organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is often considered ...
was responsible for the attack, in an attempt to assassinate DAS director
Miguel Maza Márquez
General (R) Miguel Alfredo Maza Márquez (born 1942 in Santa Marta, Magdalena) is a retired Colombian general, who was director of the Administrative Department of Security (DAS) from 1985 to 1991.
In December 1989, he survived an attempted ass ...
, who escaped unharmed. The same group was believed to be behind the bombing of
Avianca Flight 203
Avianca Flight 203 was a Colombian domestic passenger flight from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá to Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali, Colombia. It was destroyed by a bomb over the municipality of Soacha on Novembe ...
9 days before.
The DAS building bombing was the last in the long series of attacks that targeted Colombian politicians, officials, and journalists in 1989, which started with the January 18
killing
Killing, Killings, or The Killing may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Killing'' (film), a 2018 Japanese film
* ''The Killing'' (film), a 1956 film noir directed by Stanley Kubrick Television
* ''The Killing'' (Danish TV serie ...
of 12 judicial officials in
Simacota
Simacota is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Cari ...
.
References
{{Colombia conflict
1989 murders in Colombia
20th century in Bogotá
20th-century mass murder in South America
Attacks on buildings and structures in 1989
Attacks on buildings and structures in Colombia
Car and truck bombings in Colombia
December 1989 crimes
December 1989 events in South America
Failed assassination attempts in South America
Improvised explosive device bombings in 1989
Improvised explosive device bombings in Colombia
Mass murder in 1989
Mass murder in Bogotá
Medellín Cartel
Organized crime events in Colombia
Terrorist incidents in Bogotá
Terrorist incidents in Colombia in the 1980s
Building bombings in South America
Events in Bogotá