New riots in Bogotá leave dozens of people hurt and injured

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – New riots in Bogotá (Colombia) on Wednesday left at least 82 people hurt by various injuries and tear gas fired by the police, in clashes after a new day of a “national strike” that was mostly peaceful.

The most delicate situation occurred in the neighborhood of Usme, in the south of the city, where the Red Cross attended to 77 civilians and five policemen “in the middle of the demonstrations”, which are part of the wave of protests which began on April 28 last against the social and economic policies of the government.

According to the agency, 60 people suffered eye and respiratory tract injuries, 15 head, face, arm, and leg injuries, and three chests, cranioencephalic or cervical traumas, among other injuries.

The demonstrations began their mobilization four weeks ago against President Iván Duque, and, according to official data, 19 deaths have been officially confirmed in connection with the protests, although private entities say 43 deaths have occurred.

Tension in Usme

Uniformed officers clashed against demonstrators and hooded persons in the Yomasa sector, which caused blockades that, according to Bogotá Government Secretary Luis Ernesto Gómez, prevented the passage of an ambulance that even came under attack.

“Low severity injuries in Usme are attended directly by the Red Cross and by first-aid workers of the Secretary of Government. Seriously injured people are transferred by ambulances to hospitals. Police intervention was necessary to guarantee the passage of vehicles in Yomasa,” said Gómez on Twitter.

He also warned that officials of the Mayor’s Office who sought mediation between the Police and the demonstrators “were threatened with knives by violent demonstrators”. “In conditions like this, it is the Bogotá Police that legitimately reestablish public order through the intervention of Esmad,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bogotá city councilors denounced abuses by the police during the day, such as Diego Cancino, of the Alianza Verde, who assured that there was “disproportionate use of gases” that affected “the population of the neighborhoods leaving dozens of people asphyxiated”.

In addition to the clashes in Usme, overnight there were disturbances in the Portal de las Americas, west of Bogota, where there have been disturbances practically every day since the demonstrations began.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Bogotá, Claudia Lopez, delivered a report to the Office’s representative in Colombia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Juliette de Rivero, on the alleged human rights violations that occurred during the protests.