Colombia: At least 129 people are still missing in the protests against Duque

The authorities of Colombia are still looking for 129 people who were reported missing during the protests in recent weeks, which began on April 28 and leave at least 43 people dead, while 290 have already been located.

The Prosecutor’s Office reported in a statement that in a joint action with the Ombudsman’s Office, “they have found 290 people who had been reported as not being located. The Urgent Search Mechanism (MBU) is still active regarding 129 (search) requests”.

The joint statement specifies that the institutions made a consolidation with the information received between April 28 and May 23.

The information adds that the Prosecutor’s Office also has evidence of at least one complaint for forced disappearance, which allegedly occurred on May 4 in the town of Zaragoza, in the department of Antioquia (northwest).

On the other hand, the Prosecutor’s Office reported that it has a report that 43 people have died in these days, although only “17 of them have a direct link in the framework of the protests.”

He explained that the highest number of deaths occurred in the department of Valle del Cauca (southwest) with 11, including 8 in Cali, the capital and epicenter of the protests in the country.

Cali has been the city hardest hit by the violence in the protests, with serious accusations of excesses of the police force against the protesters and problems of disturbing public order, with groups of people who have robbed establishments and destroyed urban material.

In addition to the 11 deaths in Cali, three occurred in Cudinamarca and one more in Bogotá, Cauca (southwest) and Tolima (center), respectively.

Additionally, there are 7 deaths in the process of verification and of 19 there is sufficient evidence to establish that they are not linked to the demonstrations or mobilizations.

To search for the disappeared, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Ombudsman’s Office have activated 35 teams made up of a prosecutor, investigators, police officers and regional defenders.

The protests began in Colombia on April 28 against the now-defunct tax reform proposed by the Government, but they have continued -every time with less force- since then with a melting pot of demands and making visible the social discontent that underlies the second largest nation. uneven in Latin America.