Canadian super star Justin Bieber was snapped last night graffiting the streets of Bogota while Colombia´s police force stood guard.
Just two years ago police shot dead a Colombian for doing the same.
Why did the police protect Bieber while he did what they have pursued Colombians for?
According to the annual Transparency International index, 40 per cent of Colombians believe the police force is “extremely corrupt”, and a third have admitted to bribing officers. Last night will not have helped this perception.
Bieber was in Bogota to perform the first leg of his South American tour, and following the concert, the teen sensation, accompanied by his body guards and a police escort, took to the capital’s famous Calle 26 to leave an indelible mark on the Andean nation.
Cameras belonging to local TV station, City TV captured the hoodied multimillionaire painting his form of urban art in an area where local graffiti artists are apparently prohibited from working.
Bieber it seems was not only given preferential treatment, but was aided and abetted by the police. The City TV video clearly shows a police envoy blocking the road giving the pampered star free reign of this major thoroughfare. Police officers were also ordered by Bieber´s bodyguards to disperse the journalists filming the act.
Police chief Palomino appeared on the radio this morning to defend the action of his men. “We have to evolve, graffiti is a form of expression”, he said, while others protested that once again it seemed the police were complicit in the questionable actions of the rich and famous.
Colombia Politics would not take issue with Señor Palomino´s assertion that graffiti can be an art form, and of course it is permitted in certain areas across the city. But it cannot help the already appalling view Colombians have of their law enforcers that they devoted man hours to permit and protect a foreign star while he did what for Colombians would be prohibited.
Last night´s police action is in sharp contrast to their treatment of Colombian Diego Felipe Becerra who was shot dead by the force in 2011 for graffiting in the north of the city.
The police have also recently come under major fire for their handling of the national strikes in August in which they stand accused of excessive force and blind incompetence.
Kevin Howlett
Kevin is a political consultant and lobbyist who cut his teeth working in the UK Parliament. He is a regular panelist on Colombian television, a political communication strategist and a university lecturer. Kevin is the founder and editor of Colombia Politics.