Colombia

BOGOTA, June 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of people took to the streets in several cities across Colombia in fresh protests against President Ivan Duque.

Dozens of people have been killed in protests that erupted around the country on April 28, initially against a tax hike that would have mostly affected the middle classes, but which have morphed into a major anti-government movement.

BUCARAMANGA, Colombia (AP) — An international monitoring group on Wednesday accused police officers in Colombia of responsibility for the deaths of 20 people and other violent actions against protesters during recent civil unrest, including sexual abuse, beatings and arbitrary detentions.

BOGOTA, June 7 (NNN-TELESUR) — Colombia’s Institute for Development and Peace Studies (INDEPAZ) reported the assassination of Jose Alonso, a social leader from Tulua in the Valle del Cauca Department.

The 56-year-old Alonso was a signatory of the 2016 Peace Accord between the Colombian state and the then Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The social leader was killed in La Moralia by a group of armed men while he was on his way to the Naranjal area.

BOGOTA, May 31 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – Five policemen died, after the helicopter in which they were travelling crashed, in a rural area of the Colombian department of Bolivar, yesterday, Colombian President, Ivan Duque, said.

“We deeply regret the death of five heroes of our Colombian Police, attached to the Anti-Narcotics Police, in the helicopter accident that occurred in the municipality of Cantagallo, south of Bolivar, in events that are under investigation,” the president wrote on Twitter.

BOGOTA, May 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Colombian army tightened its control over Cali, the country’s third largest city, after the latest anti-government protests left at least 13 people dead.

The city’s streets were largely deserted after clashes late Friday pitted police against armed civilians. The country is in the second month of protests against the government of President Ivan Duque.

CALI (Colombia), May 23 (NNN-TELESUR) — Colombia’s Institute for Development and Peace Studies (INDEPAZ) denounced the forced disappearance of Cali citizens by the Mobile Anti-riot Squadron (ESMAD) agents.

On Thursday, the victims were detained in a supermarket in the city without the presence of local authorities. According to INDEPAZ, this was an illegal procedure and a violation of human rights.

(Reuters) --- Members of Colombia’s national police force who are responsible for abuses or acts of violence amid ongoing protests will be punished to the full extent of the law, the head of the force said.

Demonstrators and human rights groups have repeatedly accused police officers of killing civilians, excessive use of force, sexual abuse and the use of firearms, both during current protests and previous ones.

Accusations of possible abuse of a minor in the city of Popayan have sparked violent protests there this week.

BOGOTA, May 15 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The Colombian government of President Iván Duque insisted that the National Unemployment Committee needs to withdraw from the conflicts affecting the country if there is to be any dialogue.

“We are ready to sit down to negotiate,” said the government’s High Commissioner for Peace, Miguel Ceballos as Colombia plunges into a series of strong mobilizations and brutal repression.

BOGOTA, May 11 (NNN-Xinhua) — Colombian President Ivan Duque warned that protests could lead to a rise in COVID-19 cases, shortly before sitting down to talks with members of the National Strike Committee in a bid to end days of chaos.

“We have seen an increase in movement in many parts of the country, with much interaction between citizens in recent days amid a third peak (in infections), and I must send the message that we must all take care of ourselves,” Duque said at the government headquarters.

CALI (Colombia), May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The international community on Tuesday decried what the UN described as an “excessive use of force” by security officers in Colombia after numerous deaths during days of anti-government protests.

The United Nations, United States, European Union and rights bodies joined a chorus of criticism after official data showed 19 people were killed and 846 injured in running clashes with the security forces.

Colombia’s human rights ombudsman — a state agency independent from the government — said 89 people were listed as “disappeared.”