Colombians living in Spain protest violence in home country

Thousands of Colombians living in Spain took to the streets of several cities on Thursday to protest against police violence and to support anti-government demonstrators back home.

Demonstrations began in Colombia after the country's government proposed a tax plan aimed at raising 6.7 billion US dollars to pay the nation's debts and maintain a basic income scheme for 3 million low-income people that started during the pandemic.

President Ivan Duque withdrew the tax plan on Sunday amid the protests and his finance minister resigned the following day, but large demonstrations and roadblocks have continued.

Numerous videos have emerged on social media showing police using excessive force during the protests and even shooting at some demonstrators point blank.

There are some 274,000 Colombians living in Spain according to the last available data from the National Institute of Statistics, making them the largest Latin American community.

Demonstrators crowded the streets in the Spanish capital of Madrid and other Spanish cities waving banners and chanting in solidarity with protesters back in South America.

The United Nations human rights office said it was "deeply alarmed" over violence against protesters in the Colombian city of Cali, where "police opened fire on demonstrators" and allegedly killed and injured several people Monday night.