Duque sends 5000 troops to northeast Colombia days after locals beg not to militarize region

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Colombia Reports


by Adriaan Alsema October 29, 2018

Colombia’s President Ivan Duque said Sunday that he would send 5,000 soldiers to the northeast of the country days after locals begged him not to.

Duque announced the arrival of the soldiers while visiting the town of Ocaña in the troubled Catatumbo region that has been controlled by guerrillas for decades and is the country’s second most important coca growing region.

Former President Juan Manuel Santos said in April he would send 2,000 extra soldiers to Catatumbo, but without apparent effect; NGO Progresar revealed last week that violence in the region has doubled in the first half of the year, compared to the same six months last year.

Locals had explicitly asked the president not to send more troops, claiming that in the past this only escalated violence even further without curbing the chronic government neglect and corruption in the region.



Read more: https://colombiareports.com/duque-sends-5000-troops-to-northeast-colombia-days-after-locals-beg-not-to-militarize-region/

[Judi Lynn]

1. The Duque effect: one social leader is assassinated in Colombia almost every day now

Last edited Tue Oct 30, 2018, 01:55 AM - Edit history (1)

by Adriaan Alsema October 29, 2018

Violence against Colombia’s community leaders and human rights defenders has escalated to the point that a leader is assassinated almost every day, according to a leading think tank.

According to conflict monitoring NGO Indepaz, 416 leaders have been assassinated between the beginning of a peace process on December 1, 2016 and Thursday.

Duque has fiercely opposed the peace process that effectively reduced violence to a record low in 2017.

Losing count
The Ombudsman’s Office and the United Nations confirmed Saturday that another social leader, Maria Caicedo from the southwestern Cauca province, was also murdered, making her the 417th victim.

More:
https://colombiareports.com/the-duque-effect-one-social-leader-assassinated-in-colombia-almost-every-day-now/