Colombia sends army to western province after four die in protests

BOGOTA: Colombia will begin “the maximum deployment” of military personnel in the western province of Valle del Cauca and its capital, Cali, President Ivan Duque said, after four people died in protests to mark a month of anti-government demonstrations.

The four died in and around Cali on Friday, as tens of thousands marched across the country in the latest in demonstrations that started on April 28 to oppose tax reform but have since expanded to include wide-ranging demands.

Talks between the government and protest leaders have stalled.

“Tonight begins the maximum deployment of military assistance to the national police in Cali and the province of Valle,” Duque said in a televised message.

He added that more than 7,000, personnel, including from the navy, will be sent to lift road blockades, but did not give any more specifics.

Governor of Valle del Cauca Clara Luz Roldan earlier declared a 7pm curfew in the province.

On Friday in Cali, an epicentre of the protests, Mayor Jorge Ospina confirmed three deaths. Local media reported the fourth death occurred on the road between Cali and the town of Candelaria.

Two people in Cali were killed when an agent of the attorney general’s investigative unit opened fire on civilians, before also being killed. The agent was not on duty then, Attorney General Francisco Barbosa said in a televised message.

The demonstrations have been plagued by violence.

As of Thursday 17 civilians have died in connection with protests, the government said.

The police clampdown has provoked international condemnation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Colombia’s VicePresident Marta Lucia Ramirez in Washington on Friday.

The US diplomat “expressed his concern and condolences for the loss of life during recent protests in Colombia and reiterated the unquestionable right of citizens to protest peacefully,” according to spokesman Ned Price.