Colombia arrests protest leaders days after receiving $1 million from Canadian oil company

by Adriaan Alsema September 23, 2019

Days after Canadian oil firm Frontera Energy paid the military $1 million, authorities in eastern Colombia arrested locals who had been leading protests against the company, according their local media.

Eight protest leaders from the town of San Luis de Palenque, including one former council member, have spent the past 10 months in jail waiting to defend themselves against the criminal charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, assault, attempted homicide of an officer and blocking public roads.

According to the Committee in Solidarity of Political Prisoners, these charges weren’t filed until after Frontera Energy signed two contracts in which the Defense Ministry agreed that the military would provide “special protection” “in the areas of interest of the company.”

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According to Noticias Uno, the military subsequently produced an intelligence report in which the protest leaders were accused of belonging to an criminal organization.

More:
https://colombiareports.com/colombia-arrests-protests-leaders-days-after-receiving-1-million-from-canadian-oil-company/