LatinNews Daily - 16 March 2023

* Colombia’s defence minister, Iván Velásquez, has said that transport routes and businesses are again operating normally in the departments of Antioquia and Córdoba, where since 1 March protesters had blocked roads and enforced a curfew with the threat of violence. The government has blamed the protests, which are calling for the formalisation of illegal mining, on the Clan del Golfo drug trafficking organisation (DTO). Yesterday, Velásquez said that “all of the roadblocks were removed” by the security forces and that “we are in a far better situation than we were in last week, little by little we have been returning to normality – the provision of food, gas, and medicine is practically back to normal.” Velásquez also blamed the protests on the Clan del Golfo, saying that the DTO “pressured [miners] to set up roadblocks and carry out violent acts” such as the burning of vehicles.

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