Riot police moved in for the first time on Thursday to clear several roadblocks in and around the Colombian capital Bogota, during a fourth day of protests by truckers against rising diesel prices.
Since Monday, hundreds of trucks and freight vehicles have been blocking access roads to Bogota and the country’s main cities, in response to an increase of almost 20% in the price of a gallon of diesel (3.8 liters), which rose to 2.7 dollars.
“After the government gave the green light, the police began to intervene in five critical points in Bogota to lift the blockades,” the city’s mayor, Carlos Fernando Galan, said on the social network X.
Riot police used tear gas to clear a blockade in the north of the capital of 8 million people. They also moved in around a bus station in southern Bogota.
In its latest report on Thursday afternoon, the police reported the persistence of 120 permanent blockades and 85 intermittent blockades, involving nearly 6,000 people and more than 2,000 vehicles throughout the country. In total, 135 cities and towns are affected.
Around twenty criminal investigations have been opened and three people arrested, according to the police.
Colombian Head of State Gustavo Petro chaired a security council on Thursday dedicated to this crisis, during which he “reiterated his willingness to dialogue with this important transport sector,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Transport.
In a speech on Wednesday evening, Mr Petro denounced a strike led by “companies” motivated by “economic or political interests”.
After several attempts at dialogue with transport unions, the government has proposed to moderate diesel price increases until December.
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These proposals were rejected on Wednesday evening by union representatives.
“We are waiting for them to return to the discussion table,” the Ministry of Transport said.
According to the mayor of Bogota, the Corabastos market – Colombia’s main food supply center – has registered a 40% drop in the flow of food received compared to the previous week. “We are beginning to see signs of an increase in prices,” he said.
Meanwhile, the director of the Colombian Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (ASCIF) said that around 30% of drug shipments across the country were blocked.
Ecopetrol, the state-owned oil company, has announced the suspension of activities in at least five oil production fields due to blockages that are preventing “the normal development of its operations.”
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