Colombian authorities moved on Thursday to dismantle road blockades around Bogota, marking the fourth day of protests against a significant increase in diesel prices.
Since Monday, hundreds of trucks have obstructed major roads in and around the capital and other cities, expressing dissatisfaction with a 20-percent rise in the price of a gallon of diesel, which has reached $2.70.
Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galan reported on social media platform X that anti-riot police, with national government approval, were deployed to clear blockades at five critical locations in and around the capital, home to approximately eight million residents.
According to the latest police reports, there have been 120 permanent blockades and 82 related disturbances nationwide. These disruptions have forced many to walk or cycle to work, while deliveries and business operations have been significantly impacted.
In response to the ongoing crisis, the government appealed to truckers on Wednesday to establish safe corridors for food supplies amid fears of shortages. The main wholesale food market in Bogota has seen a 40-percent reduction in deliveries, and the Colombian pharmaceutical association reported a 30-percent delay in medicine deliveries.
The state oil company, Ecopetrol, has halted operations at five oil fields due to the blockades.
President Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president, is spearheading a plan to phase out subsidies that have kept fuel prices stable since the Covid-19 pandemic. The recent diesel price increase, effective Saturday, affects the cost of shipping for most goods in a country where 90 percent of commodities are transported by road.
The government contends that despite the rise, diesel prices remain among the lowest in the region. President Petro has accused influential business figures of orchestrating the protests and defended the subsidy reduction as necessary for fiscal sustainability.
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