Out in force in Colombia
A Colombian police officer faces off with protesters Saturday in Bogota. The main target of the demonstrations, President Ivan Duque, said troops will remain on the streets to help police maintain order as rumors flow of vigilante groups forming to protect against looters.
Colombia will keep troops on the streets to help police maintain order, President Ivan Duque said Saturday, after nationwide protests in the past two days degenerated into looting in some areas.
Joint military-police patrols will continue to maintain calm, Duque said Saturday, while condemning acts of vandalism.
Bogota’s mayor, Enrique Penalosa, ordered a curfew Friday night after looting broke out in the south of the city. Rumors that the attacks had moved to the wealthier north led some people to form vigilante groups to protect their property. Penalosa and Duque both denied the rumors, which the mayor said were part of an orchestrated campaign to spread fear, without saying who was behind it.
“We express the total and absolute rejection of all Colombians for the vandalism, for the terrorism, for the looting,” Duque said.
A bomb attack in the southwest of the country killed three police officers overnight Saturday. While no one immediately claimed responsibility, the area is a center for drug trafficking.