The British Connection with Colombia’s Police

New documents show that the UK has been training Colombian cops for years

By Telesur
Global Research, May 03, 2021
teleSUR 1 May 2021
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In the last few days, the Colombian police showed what it is capable of: between eight and 14 people were reportedly murdered by police officers, depending on accounts by different human rights organizations.

Scores more were injured and dozens arrested for joining a national strike and protesting on the streets of Bogota, Cali and other major Colombian cities.

It turns out that for the last three years Colombia’s cops have been receiving training from the United Kingdom, according to the British publication The Canary.

“Documents obtained by The Canary can reveal that the UK’s College of Policing has been training Colombian police over the past three years. This is despite Colombia being one of only 30 countries the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCD) lists as “Human rights priority countries,” journalist John McEvoy says.

“The issue is of public concern in light of the UK government’s possible complicity in human rights abuses abroad. But the College has refused to disclose where exactly the training occurred, the nature of the training, and the cost,” McEvoy says.

“In recent years, the College has come under fire for receiving millions of pounds to train repressive police regimes. These include Saudi Arabia, where the death penalty remains legal,” he adds.

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Featured image: Colombian riot police harassing reporters in Popayan | Photo: Twitter/@col_informa
Articles by: Telesur

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