As Protests ramp up in Colombia, De la Espriella cracks down
Tens of thousands of Colombians took to the street in anti-government protests on Wednesday as unions, student groups, and indigenous communities call for a national strike in November.
But even before a single march hit the street, right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella was already consolidating control of security forces under his control, and pushing bills that experts say will effectively criminalize dissent.
With a new “anti-terrorism” bill, as well as more aggressive police doctrine, De la Espriella is tapping the military, and intelligence services, to help him tamp down on dissent preemptively.
We dig into exactly what the new measures do, as well a bit of the history of government attacks on protesters, activists, and social leaders.
May far-right supporters of the new president welcome police cracking heads. But for those of us who have covered police violence before, what looks to be coming is terrifying.
A conversation with Adrian Alselma, regular PWS contributor and editor of Colombia Reports.
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