Under the slogan “Colombia united against terrorism”, thousands of people marched in the country’s main cities on Sunday to reject the violence, three days after a car bomb attack attributed to the guerrilla of the National Liberation Army, left 21 dead and 68 injured.

With t-shirts, balloons and white flags, the protesters walked down an avenue to concentrate on the historic Plaza de Bolívar, in downtown Bogotá, where they honored the memory of the victims with a minute of silence and white handkerchief. Similar acts were carried out in the cities of Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla.

“It is a symbol of patriotism, of civility, of union, today we are here as simple citizens rejecting terrorism, rejecting violence, showing the world that this united country is invincible,” Colombian President Iván Duque said during the march.

In the attack, the worst of its kind in the last 15 years in Colombia, the driver of the vehicle, which belonged to the ELN, died and 20 cadets, young people between 18 and 23 years old who aspired to become officers of the National Police.

“Colombia yes, terrorism no,” “No more police or military killed by terrorism,” shouted the participants in the protest, many of whom approached the police to embrace them as a sign of support.

The ELN, which has some 2,000 combatants and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, is radical, has a diffuse chain of command and dissent among its ranks, which according to security sources and analysts makes it difficult to reach a peace agreement.