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