COLOMBIA’S government has been thrown into further turmoil following the resignation of its representative Miguel Ceballos in ongoing talks with the National Strike Committee on Sunday.

He became the third member of right-wing President Ivan Duque’s cabinet to quit since anti-government protests began last month.

Pressure is mounting on Mr Duque due to the violent repression of the protests, which has left  51 people dead and thousands injured.

On Saturday teenager Jhon Erik Larrahiondo was shot dead in the city of Cali, south-west of Bogota, at the hands of the notorious Esmad police riot squad.

Local organisations believe that since the protests began, 558 people have disappeared in Cali, which is Colombia’s third-largest city and has been the centre of the protests.

Clashes ensued after reports that sites there belonging to the Exito chain store have been used for torture and execution, and police blocked observers from entering one of its warehouses in the Calipso district. 

Members of the local community had described the floors as being “covered in blood.”

Human rights campaigners of the Guagua Foundation condemned the violence from the state security services and said those responsible must be held to account.

“As a consequence of the brutal repression with firearms by the police and the GOES [special operations group] in Calipso and Puerto Madera: We hold the national government, its minister Diego Molano and other military authorities responsible for what happened,” it said in a statement.

Mr Molano faces a vote of censure in parliament, with the National Strike Committee among those calling for him to be sacked.

Talks are expected to continue in a bid to resolve the dispute, but strikes and protests are planned for tomorrow and Thursday. 

Unions are continuing to press a number of demands, including emergency payments to mitigate the impact of coronavirus, the scrapping of tuition fees and investment in healthcare.