BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia's anti-government guerrillas have grown stronger under President Gustavo Petro’s three years in office. That strength was on display in brazen attacks this week that included a car bombing and the downing of a police helicopter — violence that left at least 19 people dead.

Authorities blamed both attacks on Thursday on renegade factions of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the notorious FARC rebel group that for decades fought the government, carrying out assassinations, hijackings and bombings to undermine authorities in Bogota.

And while FARC struck a peace deal with the government in 2016 and some members transitioned into a political party, rebels who split from the mainstream have carried on with a terror campaign.

The attacks under

See Full Page