Two people die, and police are taken hostage during peasant and indigenous protest in Colombia

At least two people died on Thursday (2) in clashes involving indigenous people, peasants, and police officers trying to contain a protest outside the oil company Emerald Energy facilities in the department of Caquetá in southern Colombia.

The riot occurred in the rural area of the municipality of San Vicente del Caguan.

Human rights organizations reported that a policeman and a resident were killed, and 79 police officers and nine oil company workers were taken, hostage.

Emerald Energy is a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned company Sinochem.

According to El Universo, the demonstrators are protesting against the company’s alleged failure to fulfill its commitments to the communities in the region, such as paving 42 kilometers of access roads.

President Gustavo Petro said a commission from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Armed Forces were sent to San Vicente del Caguan to contain the violence.

In addition to the deaths, eight police officers were injured. The Public Defender’s Office is acting as a mediator in the negotiations, but there is still no information about the release of the hostages.

With information from Gazeta do Povo