The unrest that followed Thursday's massive demonstration in Colombia against the policies of right-wing President Ivan Duque resulted in three deaths, according to a new report released Friday morning by the defense minister.
More than 270 people, civilians and law enforcement officials, were also injured, most during clashes after the day of social mobilization of an exceptional magnitude in this country. "In the last few hours, the authorities have confirmed the deaths of two people during unrest in Buenaventura and another in Candelaria, municipalities of Valle del Cauca", Department of the West of the country, said the Minister of Defense, Carlos Holmes Trujillo, during a press conference.
Two dead in an "attempt to plunder" a shopping center
He said that the two dead in Buenaventura, the main port of the country on the Pacific side, died in "an attempt to loot" a shopping center where the police force "went to oppose "in the evening of Thursday. "The deaths of two people occurred as a result of the confrontation between the vandals and the police, and facts that are the subject of an investigation (...) and in addition a police officer and a member naval infantry were wounded, "added the minister.
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Carlos Holmes Trujillo assured that a commission of the police force went on the spot to "analyze the procedures followed" by his staff during the clashes. He did not specify the death of Candelaria. But a ministry source told AFP that this death also occurred during trouble in the city, located about 93 km from Buenaventura. The minister said that eleven preliminary investigations had been launched into "possible unlawful acts" by police against protesters in Bogota, as well as in the cities of Cali (west), Manizales (center) and Cartagena de Indias (north). ).
The most important social mobilization of recent years in the country
The government of President Duque, unpopular and weak after just over 15 months in power, was faced on Thursday with the most important social mobilization of recent years in Colombia. Although the authorities stressed the predominantly "peaceful" nature of the protest, the end of the day was marked by clashes between police and protesters. A total of 122 civilians and 151 law enforcement personnel were injured, while 98 people were arrested, according to the latest official report.
Cali, the third largest city in Colombia, was the main focus of violent incidents, with looting and "vandalism", after which the city council declared a curfew until dawn on Friday. The authorities then claimed to have regained control of the city. Mobilized against the economic, social and security measures of President Duque, hundreds of thousands of people marched in the streets of the main localities of the country Thursday, ending the day with "cacerolazos", or concerts of pans, a form of protest until then unpublished in Colombia.