Dozens arrested in fresh Colombia protests

BOGOTA: Colombian police said Wednesday they had arrested 70 people following fresh antigovernment protests that mobilised thousands countrywide the previous day and left dozens injured.

As Colombians returned to the streets after a weeks-long hiatus, clashes with riot police left dozens of civilians and agents wounded in the cities of Bogota, Medellin and Cali, according to the authorities.

The government has described the protests as largely peaceful.

“In the last few hours the national police captured 70 people, 69 of them caught in the act, for crimes committed in several cities on July 20, and one more on a warrant for homicide,” the institution said in a statement.

Charges include blocking public roads, damage to property, throwing dangerous objects or substances, and firearm possession. The government claims armed groups had infiltrated the protests.

Colombia’s human rights ombudsman reported 50 people were injured in Tuesday’s demonstrations – 24 civilians and 26 agents.

The country was rocked by weeks of protests that broke out late April in opposition to a proposed tax hike that morphed into a mass movement against the right-wing administration of President Ivan Duque.

The demonstrators demanded an end to police repression and more supportive public policies to alleviate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with more than 40 per cent of the country’s 50 million inhabitants now living in poverty.

The international community has condemned a security response that left more than 60 people dead.