• There is a report of 14 homicides directly related to the riots and the Urgent Search Mechanism was activated in 168 cases in which people were reported as missing persons.
  • 152 people were criminally indicted with different crimes, and preventive measures were issued for 43 of them. In addition, 70 crime reports were opened for alleged abuse committed by authorities.
  • The Office of the Attorney General contemplated the conflict of jurisdiction in cases of an alleged violation of human rights committed by the public forces to guarantee transparency in the investigations.

During his speech at the Plenary of the House of Representatives, in which the current situation of protests and strikes were analyzed, the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, referred to the way this institution has faced the situation since April 28.

The Attorney General revealed conclusive measures taken by groups that work in 7 investigation lines on different crimes that have occurred during riots.

A report concerning the following aspects was delivered:

  • Situation in Cali 

After the Attorney General visited Cali, where he met with his team and the Sectional Director to do a follow-up on the clarification strategy due to all offenses committed during the riots, the Attorney said “One cannot obstruct a city, nor a society. I saw rows of 200,300 cars to get some gasoline. There is no garbage collection between north and center, and it is being burned in the streets. We are under distress, people have destroyed part of the massive transportation system ‘Mio’. Protests are fine, but we cannot allow and what all Colombian citizens must reject, without exception or justifications, is the criminality behind these protests which affect society and that negatively affects the institutional constitution of a State.”

  • Homicides 

Concerning the murders that took place in protests, information which was provided by different sources, we have a balance of 34 cases that occurred between April 28 and May 11. Through our specialized and interdisciplinary teams created in different sectional offices, we have gathered evidence that led us to conclude that 14 homicides have a direct relation with protests: 7 in Cali (Valle del Cauca), 1 in Bogotá, 1 in Soacha, 2 in Madrid (Cundinamarca), 1 in Pereira, 1 in La Virginia (Risaralda), and 1 in Ibagué (Tolima).

“Regarding these 14 homicides, we must say that: four of them were clarified, which is especially important. In a short time, with all the difficulties, we have determined that three homicides were committed by police officers within the framework of protests, and one homicide was perpetrated against a police captain in Soacha”, stated the Attorney General.

On the other hand, 10 of these cases are undergoing a verification process to clarify the factual circumstances, and regarding the 10 remaining homicides, which took place in Valle del Cauca, Norte de Santander and Huila, and also in the cities of Medellín and Bogotá, it was determined that they are not directly related to the riots.

  • Missing persons

Through the interinstitutional board established between the Office of the Attorney General and the Ombudsperson’s Office, to date, we have managed to locate 227 people that were reported as missing by different sources.

Moreover, we activated the Urgent Search Mechanism (MBU by its initials in Spanish) for 168 cases, and for 153 cases the request was not admitted due to lack of information and inconsistencies in the reported data.

According to the Attorney General’s Office information system SPOA, there are no formal reports about the crime of disappearance within the framework of protests.

  • Investigation and prosecution 

The Attorney General’s Office has received 180 criminal complaints of cases of injured civilians, allegedly, due to authority abuse. Regarding members of the Public Force that were injured in the protests, 547 investigations are carried out due to 612 injured people.

Within the framework of protests, 625 people were arrested, 152 of them were indicted for crimes such as public road obstruction, damage to third-party property, violence against public officials, robbery, violent protest, and disruption of public transportation. After hearings took place, judges imposed preventive measures against 43 individuals.

  • Conflict of jurisdiction

Regarding the homicides attributed to members of the Public Force, specifically one case in which an officer was arrested whose case will be assumed by the Military Penal Justice, the Attorney General Barbosa fully supported the prosecutor’s decision to continue invoking competence to investigate the case, in order to guarantee transparency in the investigation.

“The Attorney General’s Office contemplated a conflict of jurisdiction since we consider that those cases, that clearly involve human rights violations, are under the competence of the Attorney General’s Office, and I will not allow those cases in which exist those analysis and requirements, go under the Military Penal Justice but to remain under our jurisdiction”, pointed out the Attorney General Barbosa

The Office of the Attorney General makes this information public for reasons of general interest.

The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out the criminal investigations within the Office of the Attorney General. By the time this communication is disclosed, the legal status of the people mentioned is still pending to be resolved by the competent judicial authority, always under the presumption of innocence contemplated by Article 29 of the Political Constitution and Article 7 of Law 906 of 2004.