President Ivan Duque has promised to ‘modernize’ Colombia’s police force after security forces killed more than 60 protesters during May’s countrywide demonstrations against tax reforms.
The ‘Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squadron’ (ESMAD), Colombia’s highly militarized riot police force, reportedly used tactics such as torture, sexual abuse and disappearances to intimidate protesters. Observers found evidence of police firing live bullet rounds into crowds. According to Amnesty International, at least 400 people have been disappeared from the city of Cali, one of the protest movement’s strongholds.
