Colombia’s new president poses with dead bodies in show of force

Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella has sparked outrage after sharing a video of himself walking through rows of body bags he said contained 23 “neutralised” guerrillas killed in a military operation in the Amazon.

As reported by The Guardian, De La Espriella, who took office last month vowing “all-out war” on armed groups, wrote that he had promised to “confront terrorism without hesitation” and was fulfilling that pledge.

However, the footage, set to a dramatic score, drew sharp condemnation from human rights activists and political opponents.

Former presidential rival Iván Cepeda accused him of showing contempt for the dead, while lawmaker Daniel Monroy called the display an act of “necropolitics.”