Álvaro Uribe says Duque “lacks authority” and underlines the support that the armed forces would give him

Journalist Salud Hernández interviewed former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez for El Mundo de España newspaper and in this space they talked about the days of the strike, what it means for Colombia and President Iván Duque himself .

The journalist mainly inquired of Uribe on this last point and asked him if he had the same point of view that certain sectors of activity express in front of a lack of authority of the president. For his part, the former senator answered yes, and that he did so in the “most constructive” way. arguing that the armed forces have enough “professionalism” to handle protests and times of tension.

The interview also refers to the fact that many of those captured have been released and calls justice into question. But, on the other hand, he proposes a social reform that helps to correct the economic situation that Colombians are experiencing due to the pandemic and various historical factors in terms of equity. In addition, Uribe asserted that tax reform should be funded by the richest 1% in the country.

On the other hand, for the former congressman, the violent events are due to three aspects: the “ domestic vandalism ” which, he assures, is the one that dragged Colombia for a while, another which developed as a result of the signing of the Peace. Agreements and the third because the drug money. However, he said that the government of Nicolás Maduro, along with Diosdado Cabello, is behind what is happening in terms of violence in the context of the protests.

Uribe also raised the issue of vandalism in an interview with Infobae Colombia, where he was asked about the use of weapons and the message he sent on Twitter which was later deleted by the platform. “I want to ask you a question, then, should the Colombian police allow themselves to be killed without defending themselves?” The Colombian police are obliged to respect human rights, but they are also beneficiaries of human rights. I ask another question, if it is not the institutional public force that defends people, public goods and private goods, who?

“These events in Cali, which took place that Sunday, when civilians appeared to be shooting, one wonders why the police took so long to arrive? so, one could say, as I said last week in the Chamber, that the action of these civilians was an action of self-defense, but under the rule of law it must be exceptional, ”he said. he continued in an interview with Infobae.

Militarization of cities

After President Iván Duque ordered on the night of this Friday, May 28 militarize the whole department of Valle del Cauca To control the tense public order situation in Cali and other towns, early this Saturday, the decree that, along with Interior Minister Daniel Palacios, Duque signed to deploy law enforcement in various regions of Colombia was announced.

By decree 575 of May 28, 2021, President Duque gives the order to the governors of Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Nariño, Huila, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Caquetá and Risaralda and to the mayors of cities such as Cali, Buenaventura, Pasto, Ipiales, Popayán, Yumbo, Buga, Palmira, Bucaramanga, Pereira, Madrid, Facatativá and Neiva guarantee order in the territories because, otherwise, they would be sanctioned.

In addition, territorial leaders are invited to coordinate with the national police and the “The military authorities of the military assistance department referred to in article 170 of law 1801 of 2016, so that the department, the district and the municipalities, implement this legal instrument to deal with and overcome events that cause serious impairment of security and coexistence, in their respective jurisdictions ” read the document.

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