Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said a bomb detonated in the middle of Bogotá, the country's capital and largest city, was intended to kill former interior minister Ferdnando Londoño Hoyos.
El País reports that Santos condemned the attack, saying the bomb exploded next to the armored vehicle Londoño was travelling in.
The AP reports at least two people are dead, while Radio Caracol is reporting that at least five are dead with 19 injured. Two of the dead, reports Caracol, were Londoño's body guards. Londoño was injured, the president said, but is now out of danger.
It's still not clear whether the bomb was thrown at the vehicle or whether it was a car bomb. Photos from the scene show the bombed-out remains of a small bus.
"We don't understand what the purpose of this is," Santos said, according to Caracol. "But rest assured, the government will not allow itself to be derailed by these terrorist acts."
Update at 5:23 p.m. ET. Government Points Finger At FARC :
Radio Caracol reports that Andrés Villamizar, director of the country's national protection unit, says Londoño had been threatened by the guerilla group FARC because of his work with the Álvaro Uribe administration and because of his work as journalist currently.
Caracol reports the bomb was placed on the former interior minister's car using a magnet.
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