Another day of protests in Colombia: violence escalates – News

At the start of new protests against the Government and a national strike across Colombia, President Iván Duque denounced on Wednesday that the “drug trafficking mafia” is behind “extreme vandalism and urban terrorism”. and announced a plan to counter it.

“The threat of vandalism we face is a criminal organization that hides behind legitimate social aspirations to destabilize society, sow terror among citizens and distract the actions of law enforcement. The extreme vandalism and urban terrorism, which we observe, are financed and articulated by the drug trafficking mafia, as denounced by the Attorney General of the Nation ”, denounced the president in a video broadcast on social networks.

Duque’s statement alludes to riots reported last week in various cities across the country, which ended amid a violent crackdown.

The statement coincided with the start of a new day of protests against his government and after a week of protests and fierce repression, which has so far left 24 dead and more than 800 injured, as revealed on Wednesday by the Ombudsman’s Office.

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The context gave way to international complaints about the excessive use of force by security agencies.

Despite the withdrawal of the controversial tax reform that he had proposed and promised to draft another, and the resignation of the Minister of Finance, the National Unemployment Committee, which brings together some forty organizations, redoubled its bet on Tuesday with the call for a new mobilization in Bogotá and in the main cities of the country.

Protesters are now calling for the withdrawal of a health reform project, better management of the coronavirus pandemic and a basic income according to the food basket.

All this despite the fact that Duque announced the creation of a national dialogue table which will bring together the sectors and actors of the country in search of solutions to the dissatisfaction of citizens.

“We will set up a space to listen to citizens and build solutions. Ideological differences should not mediate, but a deep patriotism. It is vital to have all the institutions, the parties, the private sector, the governors, mayors and civil society leaders. “, underlined the president, in a message which responded to his account of the network Twitter.

In this context, the statement made on Wednesday by Duque of the House of Nariño, with Vice-President Marta Lucía Ramírez by his side, appears to be an attempt to deter the concentration.

“We have defined a reward of up to 10 million pesos ($ 2,600) for effective collaboration to identify and capture the perpetrators of vandalism and crimes committed in recent days against public infrastructure. , and will be published by the national police, the cartel. of the most wanted for these crimes in different cities. Faced with those who commit this type of crime, there will be no truce and all of society will bring them to justice, ”said the president.

Likewise, he signaled the creation of a national telephone line to handle complaints, activate a special vandalism investigation group to search for “promoters of violence”, which, as reported, has already made 553 arrests. and defended the police who were “victims of cowardice and intimidation”.

His remarks, which included no response to allegations of human rights violations committed inside and outside the country, came after Tuesday night when the country, especially the capital, experienced another night of chaos. and violence, which ended with 30 civilians and 16 police officers. officers wounded, according to city officials.

Likewise, the city of Cali has also become in recent days the epicenter of demonstrations and repression of state forces.

The prosecution ensures that, behind the excesses, are FARC dissidents who have strayed from the peace agreement signed in 2016; the ELN, the last recognized guerrilla in Colombia, and drug gangs.

However, organizations calling for the protests argue that it was the security forces that permeated the protests with violence, day and night.

Amid high expectations, the accesses and avenues in Bogotá woke up on Wednesday with the first blockades, the news agency reported DPA.

Colombia entered a spiral of protests and violent clashes between protesters and security forces a week ago, when thousands took to the streets on April 28 in at least 23 cities across the country against the tax reform bill.

With popularity down 33%, Duque has faced massive protests since 2019, but the pandemic has fueled discontent in a country suffering from more than half a century of armed conflict.

Duque had assured that he would open “spaces for dialogue” to listen to all sectors, but without specifying how these steps will be carried out and, faced with criticism of police abuse, the president said on Wednesday that he supported the security forces, to which he called the main victims of attacks, which angered the demonstrators who are preparing to take to the streets.

Report by Marcos Calligaris.