COVID killings: People being executed for breaking lockdown rules
Drug cartels and rebel groups are executing people who break their coronavirus lockdown rules across Colombia, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
At least nine people have been murdered for failing to comply with the restrictions or speaking out against them.
The report found that armed groups have imposed rules in at least 11 of Colombia’s 32 states. The armed groups’ measures are often stricter than those imposed by the government, according to humanitarian workers and community leaders. The workers said violent gangs are prohibiting residents from leaving their homes during curfews, including those who are sick.
In at least nine 32 states, armed groups have used or threatened violence to enforce rules that include curfews, lockdowns, movement restrictions, and limits on businesses’ opening days and hours. In two provinces, Cauca and Guaviare, the groups have burned the motorcycles of those who flouted their restrictions.
“In communities across Colombia, armed groups have violently enforced their own measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at HRW.
“This abusive social control reflects the government’s long-standing failure to establish a meaningful state presence in remote areas of the country, including to protect at-risk populations.”
Since the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the country on March 6, there have been more than 204,000 confirmed cases with over 6,900 deaths.