Civilians with Machetes Take on Leftist Rioters in Colombia LUIS ROBAYO/AFP via Getty Images 9 Jun 2021 Locals in Barranquilla, Colombia, responded to leftist riots in their neighborhood by taking the streets with machetes on Tuesday, Colombian media and citizen journalists revealed. Colombia has experienced nationwide riots since late April, initially organized against a progressive tax proposal by conservative President Iván Duque. Even though Duque walked back the near-universally unpopular proposal days later, Colombian leftist groups organized a “national strike” against him, most prominently featuring the burning down of police stations and historic monuments and building illegal roadblocks that have resulted in needless deaths.