U.S. gives Colombia $8 mln for police human rights training

BOGOTA,  (Reuters) – The United States will contribute $8 million to Colombia’s national police to support human rights and anti-corruption training of the force, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said yesteday during a visit to Bogota.

Colombia’s national police have come under heavy criticism in recent years, including from the United Nations and the European Union, for using excessive force during anti-government protests where a total of more than 40 civilians died.

Families of some of those killed say they face a long wait for justice https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/families-protesters-killed-colombia-face-long-wait-justice-2021-09-10 when police are implicated in deaths.

President Ivan Duque’s government backed a police reform last year it said would improve human rights standards for cops. Several police officers have been convicted or faced prosecution for civilian deaths since 2019.

“I am very proud to announce an additional $8 million from the U.S. government for the Colombian national police to support this work that they are embarked on now in the protection of human rights, in strengthening human rights education among the police force, accountability for those who abuse human rights and identifying corruption within the police force,” Nuland told journalists in company with the national police director, General Jorge Luis Vargas.

Nuland hailed what she called the Colombian police’s commitment to investigating abuses and strengthening its human rights standards and said the U.S. government was conducting similar efforts in its own country.

“This is a great transformation to protect the rights of Colombians, this is a great transformation of the national police to guarantee the freedom of people,” Vargas said.

Colombia and the United States will share intelligence information to head off possible interference in legislative and presidential elections later this year, Duque said in the afternoon following his own meeting with Nuland.

Colombians will head to the polls in mid-March to elect lawmakers and again in May in the first of what will likely be two rounds of voting for a new president.