There Will Be No Impunity for Colombia Police Abuses, Top Cop Says
Voice of America
BOGOTA - Members of Colombia's national police force who are responsible for abuses or acts of violence amid ongoing protests will be punished to the full extent of the law, the head of the force said.
Demonstrators and human rights groups have repeatedly accused police officers of killing civilians, excessive use of force, sexual abuse and the use of firearms, both during current protests and previous ones. Accusations of possible abuse of a minor in the city of Popayan have sparked violent protests there this week. "They must respond before the authorities and whoever has knowingly committed a crime; the response will have the full weight of the law," national police director General Jorge Luis Vargas told Reuters in an interview.Soldiers patrol the road near the international airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 13, 2024. Children look through a fence at a shelter for families displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 13, 2024. A protester reacts while tires burn in the street during a demonstration following the resignation of Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 12, 2024. People walk along a street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 13, 2024.
U.S. President Joe Biden talks to Harry Abramson during a visit to the Biden campaign office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 13, 2024. Demonstrators in support of Palestinians gather near where U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 13, 2024. U.S. President Joe Biden visits his Wisconsin election campaign office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 13, 2024.
Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry speaks while addressing the nation, at an unidentified location on a date given as March 11, 2024, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. (Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti via X) Former police officer Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier, and leader of an alliance of armed groups, walks past journalists, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 11, 2024.
Natalia Latif with a 'Vote Uncommitted' sign during an uncommitted vote election night gathering in Dearborn, Michigan, February 27, 2024. Voting in Detroit, Michigan, during the presidential primary election, February 27, 2024. Supporters of the uncommitted movement cheer during an election night gathering, Feb. 27, 2024, in Dearborn, Michigan. Eric Suter-Bull holds a Vote Uncommitted sign outside a voting location at Saline Intermediate School for the Michigan primary election in Dearborn, Feb. 27, 2024.
Supporters for Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump show their support for him at a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, March 9, 2024. U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia, speaks before U.S. President Joe Biden at a campaign rally at Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia, March 9, 2024. Photos taken in Columbia, South Carolina, show former U.S. President Donald Trump, left, on Feb. 24, 2024, and current U.S. President Joe Biden on Jan. 27, 2024.