Police begin clearing roads blocked by truck drivers in Colombia

Riot police intervened for the first time on Thursday to disperse some of the blockades in Bogotá and its surroundings, on the fourth day of truckers’ protests in Colombia against the increase in the price of diesel.

Hundreds of cargo vehicles have been blocking access roads to the capital and the country’s main cities since Monday, in response to an increase of around 20% in the price of a gallon (3.8 liters) of fuel, to 2.7 dollars.

“Following the federal government’s approval, we began the intervention of the Bogotá police in five critical points of the city, to lift the blockades,” reported Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán, on the social network X.

With around 1,200 men, the riot squad used tear gas to disperse a blockade in the north of the capital, which has 8 million inhabitants. It also took action in the vicinity of a bus station located in the south of Bogotá, the most affected city.

According to the capital’s city hall, a quarter of the public transport fleet is at a standstill. Police reported 120 permanent blockades across the country, 82 intermittent ones and more than 70% of the country’s departments affected.

The mayor of Bogotá reported that in Corabastos, Colombia’s largest market, there was a 40% reduction in the flow of food received compared to the previous week. “We are starting to see signs of rising prices.”

The Colombian Pharmaceutical Industry Association reported that around 30% of drug shipments across the country are backlogged.

State-owned company Ecopetrol announced the suspension of activities in five production fields due to blockades, which prevent “the normal development” of operations.

Today it was also announced the postponement of the first football match due to the blockades, between Junior and Deportivo Pereira, scheduled for tomorrow in Barranquilla.

After several days of negotiations with unions, the government of leftist Gustavo Petro proposed moderating increases in the price of diesel. “We know perfectly well what a company strike is, there are always obscure economic or political interests,” Petro said yesterday, referring to the promoters of the strike, which he links to right-wing forces.