# Filming amongst body bags: New Colombian president’s comms campaign sparks backlash

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/filming-amongst-body-bags-new-colombian-presidents-comms-campaign-sparks-backlash/
- Published: 2026-11-10T18:18:30+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T03:34:58+00:00
- Original publisher: France 24 (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20261110-filming-amongst-body-bags-new-colombian-president-s-comms-campaign-sparks-backlash
- Topics: Elections, Entertainment, Film, Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- De la Espriella posted videos filmed beside body bags after military operations.
- Critics raised concerns about the imagery and human rights.
- A tribunal temporarily ordered two videos removed from Instagram.

## Summary

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has faced backlash for posting videos of himself speaking beside body bags after military operations against armed groups. The footage reflects his campaign pledge to take a hard line against them, a shift from the previous government’s policy of seeking dialogue, but critics say the imagery is disturbing and raises human rights concerns.

A video published on 2 September showed 23 body bags and described those killed as terrorists; another, posted two days later, showed four bags and had received two million views. Colombia’s People’s Defender and human rights organisations criticised the videos, and a Bogotá tribunal temporarily ordered them removed from the president’s official Instagram account. De la Espriella later posted more footage involving body bags, bound prisoners and airstrikes, in a style the article compares with videos shared by El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and the Trump administration.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.