An explosive device placed in a trash can was detonated by cell phone at a festival in Ituango, Colombia, killing 7 people and injuring more than 50 others. Several hours after the attack, police arrested a member of the 18th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This is the first significant attack the FARC has carried out since Colombian special operations forces rescued 15 hostages (including French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. defense contractors) from FARC captivity July 2. The hostage rescue operation joined a string of recent setbacks for the FARC, which have included the deaths of senior commanders, mass defections and the capture of computers containing sensitive data. These reverses have put the FARC in disarray — something underscored by the Ituango bombing. The FARC has struck civilian targets before, though previously it has focused on banks or other private businesses — symbols of capitalism, which the group ideologically opposes. In general, the FARC prefers to target military and government interests or infrastructure or to kidnap civilians to gain leverage with the government. It is extremely rare for the FARC to target an event like the festival, which primarily would be attended by less weatlhy Colombians, in a bid to cause mass casualties. While the attack did kill a local political leader, the magnitude of the explosives used and the setting of the attack suggest this was not an assassination but an attack on civilians. The poor in rural Colombia are a key base for the FARC, as the group's bases depend on the support and silence of the villagers who live nearby. The attack is thus puzzling: By targeting these villagers, the FARC has done itself a disservice. The FARC is divided into seven blocs composed of about a dozen fronts or units. This creates a hierarchy, with each bloc commander enjoying the support of his respective unit. As the FARC's leadership crumbles, these commanders probably could be engaged in internal power struggles over who will lead the FARC and how. Without a unified leadership, puzzling attacks like these are bound to happen as local militants act without clear direction. With the FARC's leadership in shambles, morale low among its troops and momentum on the side of the government, the movement is in a very weak position. The festival represents an action carried out by a group with no real head or clear strategy. Though it was an easy target that gained the group attention and reminded Colombians that FARC still can carry out violent attacks, in the long term, striking at civilians will only weaken the already-waning support for the rebel movement.