Cali, in the grip of violence: ten dead left the day of the demonstrations and the repression of May 28

The day that commemorated a month of national strike in Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca, left a violent toll of ten deaths reported to date. This was confirmed by Carlos Alberto Rojas, the city’s security secretary, for Caracol Radio.

“Yesterday we had ten deaths in the city of Cali and many in the specific context of yesterday’s activities. In the south of the city, we had a real confrontation scene and almost an urban war. Many people have lost their lives and we have had a significant number of injuries ”, said the manager of the radio station.

In addition, he sentenced civilians with firearms such as pistols and rifles. Faced with this, he asked for identification and prosecution. “It is unacceptable that civilians turn our city into a field of war. It seems to us that what happened should be promptly investigated by all authorities. These people must be identified and prosecuted ”, he asserted.

According to Rojas, in the La Luna sector, south of the city, three deaths have been reported so far. “In other parts of the city, we also had events related to the dynamics of the demonstration and the blockades”, he said, making sure the condition of other people is determined.

In terms of injuries, according to the official, 23 injured were counted last night entering the health system. However, Rojas assured he would have to report more injuries. During the entire month of protest, according to the prosecution, 12 to 15 people died and more than 550 were injured.

According to a report from the Cali authorities, shared by journalist Miguel Palta, eight of the victims were killed with guns. One of the reports appears with a sharp weapon and, one of them, in the La Luna sector, is classified as perpetrated with “Other weapons”. All the victims were men and the youngest was 22 years old.

Among the reported neighborhoods are Marroquín II, Junín, Saavedra Galindo, Urbanización La Base, Santa Helena, Omar Torrijos, Prados del Sur and Alfonso Bonilla Aragón.

In Junín, which is part of La Luna’s report, an official from the attorney general’s office was involved. This is the CTI agent identified as Fredy Bermúdez Ortiz, who apparently he tried to get past that point and in the middle of a confrontation drew a gun and shot several protesters who were there. Two of them lost their lives.

Amid the chaos, the officer who fired fled and was pursued by the same protesters who managed to arrest and lynch him. Here you can see the moment when two protesters are lying on the ground and the alleged perpetrator runs away:

Prosecutor Francisco Barbosa confirmed the facts in a media statement hours later. “He was an official attached to the technical investigative body who, according to information gathered so far, shot several people causing the death of some civilians. It should be noted that this official joined the institution in 2014 and that at the material time he was not doing any work specific to his function because he was at rest “, reported the attorney general.

Likewise, he explained that Bermúdez, on the occasion of what happened, “He ended up dying at the hands of people who were at the scene of the crime. The Attorney General’s office rejects all acts of violence that threaten the lives of our citizens regardless of their condition, these acts violate the rule of law, the Constitution and international human rights treaties ”.

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