‘No food and no fuel’: Colombia torn by protests and violent crackdown

23 protesters and one police officer killed after general strike over unpopular tax reform met with heavy-handed response

Mass protests were held across Colombia on Wednesday after a night of unrest in the capital city, as street violence continued after more than a week of angry anti-government demonstrations.

Twenty-three protesters and one police officer have been killed in the unrest that began with with a general strike over an unpopular tax reform but has grown into an outburst of rage over poverty exacerbated by the pandemic, human rights abuses and the authorities' heavy-handed response to protests.