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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) \u2014 A motorcycle loaded with explosives detonated at a police checkpoint in southwestern Colombia<\/a> on Saturday, killing the driver and injuring 14 others, authorities said.<\/p>\n Officers had been conducting inspections in the community of Las Penas in the Jamundi municipality to prevent possible violence by illegal armed groups, commander of the Cali Metropolitan Police Col. Carlos Oviedo told journalists.<\/p>\n The driver \u201cbecame scared\u201d and detonated the explosives after being called to the checkpoint, Oviedo said, killing himself and injuring seven civilians and seven police officers. One of the officers has a \u201creserved prognosis,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n See for yourself \u2014 The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Criminal groups consider Jamundi strategic because of its plantations of coca leaf<\/a>, which is transformed into cocaine, and because it is connected to the port of Buenaventura.<\/p>\n The organized crime group Jaime Martinez is active in the area. It is composed of dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia<\/a>, known by its Spanish acronym FARC, that did not accept the 2016 peace deal with the state.<\/p>\n Attacks with explosives against military and police officers, which authorities attribute to illegal armed groups, have continued despite efforts by Colombian President Gustavo Petro<\/a> to negotiate peace deals with the irregular armies under a strategy known as total peace<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Ombudsman\u2019s office expressed concern over growing violence in Jamundi and urged authorities to guarantee the protection and security of citizens.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nTrusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox<\/h4>\n