Colombia senator Gustavo Bolivar leaves the country due to “threats” and lack of protection

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Colombia Humana Senator Gustavo Bolivar has advised this Wednesday (6) that he has left his country in the face of “multiple threats” against him, while denouncing the lack of “protection” by the National Protection Unit (UNP).

Colombia Humana, formerly known as the Progressive Movement, is a Colombian political movement and party founded in 2011 and led by politician Gustavo Petro. Humana has emerged as a progressive node of the party.

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“I have decided to leave the country because of the multiple threats that are hanging over my life and because of the persecution to which I am subjected, but above all, because the UNP has not provided me with service in my departures from Bogotá,” said the senator of the social democratic party.

Through a video that has circulated in his account on Twitter, he denounced that the UNP said 15 days ago that they “had no availability” to offer their services during his visit to Barranquilla; “security” that is “vital” for him.

Thus, he has said that “while the Congress and the UNP agree” on which institution should provide him with this “protection,” he has decided to leave the country. However, he will continue to carry out his functions remotely . “As the majority of the Congress is doing today, so as not to abandon my position”, Bolivar pointed out.

The senator assured that he would return to Colombia when the security conditions “improve” and when the UNP decides to provide him with its services “as it does to many congressmen of the Democratic Center -the party of the president, Iván Duque-, except to those of us who are in the opposition.”

Bolivar has reported receiving threats on previous occasions. At the same time, he has informed that he has requested precautionary measures before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR). “I hope that when they are granted, my security will also improve”, he added, before remarking that he is not “willing” to “risk his life” and asking for “understanding” for his decision.