Colombia: Protests and violent government crackdowns continue in third week of demonstrations
Lucas Villa, protest student leader shot eight times during peaceful resistance against president Ivan Duque, dies. Amnesty International and other Intl. bodies call for an urgent cease to violence against Indigenous Peoples in the context of the National Strike. On May 11th, the Colombian Ombudsman's Office reported an increase to 42 in the death toll recorded, 104 alleged human rights violations and 168 missing people during the national strike against the policies of President Duque government, although the figures are higher, according to CSOs. Valle del Cauca, Cauca and Huila become the epicenter of the government repression to the popular protests and faces food, petrol and services shortage. UN and OAS condemn the violent crackdown on peaceful protests and call on the government to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the reported killings, sexual violence, allegations of torture, and cases of alleged arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance. Number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 are the highest since March 2020. Phil Bloomer, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre’s Executive Director, publishes a statement on the Human Rights situation.