Colombia: Iván Duque ordered “maximum military deployment” in Cali after new protests left ten dead

BOGOTÁ.- The President of Colombia, Ivan Duque, ordered “the maximum deployment of military assistance ” to the national police in Cali, insofar as It came after the city recorded ten deaths on Friday in protests that took place across the country a month ago, as oversight bodies warned against the use of force.

Thousands of people returned to the streets of cities like Bogotá on Friday, in which there were at least 20 peaceful and festive concentrations, as well as in Medellín, Bucaramanga and Cartagena. However, in addition to Cali, there was also violence in Madrid, where protesters clashed for hours with the mobile riot squad (Esmad) on one of the main roads in that municipality.

“I want to clarify that from this evening, the maximum deployment of military assistance to the national police begins in the city of Cali and the department of Valle del Cauca”Duque said Friday after a meeting of the Security Council, called following the new episodes of violence.

The president defended the implementation of the measure based on “Disruption of public order” registered in the region. As explained, this will allow “Triple the capacity (of the security forces) throughout the department ”and to prevent“ acts of vandalism ”such as those which occurred on the last day, which ended in ten dead.

In view of this, the Office of the Ombudsman issued a statement in which it clarified that “Will be careful to exercise strong, strict and intense control” to militarization in the capital of Valle del Cauca.

Likewise, the control entity underlined that “prior checks of the tools and identifications of each of the agents participating in the exercise of military assistance to the national police will be constantly carried out, in order to determine that they correspond to those that can be used by ESMAD and the force available ”.

In his statement, the Ombudsman recalled that “The principles in which military assistance is framed refer to the fact that it is a temporary and exceptional power, by virtue of which members of the military forces are subject to the rules of the use of force of the National police and act under the orders of a civilian. authority “.

The supervisory body insisted on the fact that the assistance of the military forces “must be developed exclusively under the parameters of the phased and proportional use of force, as a guarantor and under the parameters of human rights. , with more rigor in the case of assistance within the framework of social action. demonstration “.

Duque, who wants the National Unemployment Committee (CNP) to reject the blockades as a means of complaint, also revealed that “a communication support service will be deployed so that those opposite report each action, so that there is total transparency ”.

“We will speed up the prosecution and start the deployment of all intelligence capabilities so people know links in many of these vandalism activities with organized groups “, underlined the president, who urged “the citizens to surround and accompany this work”.

In Colombia, it was accomplished this Friday one month of the national strike at rejection of a tax reform. The measure was then withdrawn by the government, which decided to militarize the streets.

The social epidemic has led to multiple riots, looting and vandalism, but also in complaints against repression and various abuses committed by the security forces.

Thousands of people returned to the streets of cities like Bogotá on Friday, where there were at least 20 peaceful and festive concentrations, as well as in Medellín, Bucaramanga and Cartagena.

However, in addition to Cali, there was also violence in Madrid, where protesters clashed for hours with the mobile riot squad (Esmad) on one of the main roads in that municipality.

Dozens of people died in protests – the majority at the hands of members of the public forces – and 866 civilians were wounded, of which at least 50 were wounded in the eyes by shots fired by the police, according to human rights organizations.

Also i know arbitrarily detained at least 2,152 people and gender-based violence was committed against 87.

The United Nations (UN), the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union (EU) and human rights organizations, among others, have denounced to the international community a disproportionate use of public force.

AFP and Telam agencies

THE NATION

Conocé The Trust Project