Colombia’s government on Tuesday modified a set of guidelines that dictate how police should react to street protests, giving officers greater leeway to break up demonstrations in which protesters are vandalizing public property or disrupting access to essential services through actions like roadblocks.
The modifications made by the government of conservative President Abelardo de la Espriella have been criticized by activists and opposition politicians, who are concerned that the new guidelines can be broadly interpreted by officers and could lead to more cases of police violence.
