Colombia: Civilians Take Up Firearms Against Rioters Burning Buildings
LUIS ROBAYO/AFP via Getty Images
4 May 2021
Multiple reports Tuesday morning out of Cali, Colombia, painted violent scenes of rioters burning down buildings, including a prominent hotel, and confronting armed civilians protecting their property as nationwide riots near one week of public terror.
Colombians began organizing protests last week against President Iván Duque, a self-proclaimed conservative, proposing a significant tax increase meant to offset losses caused by the Chinese coronavirus pandemic and related economic strife. The proposal prompted criticism from both right and left, including the head of Duque’s political party, former President Álvaro Uribe. Colombia has one of the world’s highest coronavirus infection rates, documenting nearly 3 million cases and over 75,000 deaths attributable to the pandemic as of Tuesday.