The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are being protected by a ‘ring of steel’ as they continue their quasi royal tour of Colombia.
Harry and Meghan are being protected alongside Francia Marquez, who has had threats against her life since becoming the country’s first female vice president.
A journalist accompanying the trio described the security presence as “massive”.
“We’ve seen 14 car and police van convoys carrying the Sussexes through the streets of Bogotá since they arrived this morning and have been on four engagements,” said Nick Pisa.
“There’s a bit of controversy with the vice president over the fact that she seems to travel everywhere by helicopter, but we should say she has been subjected to several death threats and also several attempted assassinations.”
The vast security detail follows Harry’s highly-publicised battle to have his taxpayer-funded security in the UK reinstated after he lost the protection when he stepped down as a working royal.
He said that without royal security, the UK is too dangerous for Meghan to visit because of the risk of an “acid or knife attack” inspired by negative tabloid stories.
The Foreign Office advises British nationals against all but essential travel to certain parts of Colombia because of the prevalence of violent crimes, including kidnappings.
The journalist added: “It does raise serious questions about why Harry thinks that Great Britain might be a little bit too unsafe for him, but he’s happy to stand next to someone who has, unfortunately, quite literally got a target on her back.”
Harry and Meghan have a packed itinerary of engagements, spending two days in the capital before travelling to the smaller cities of Cartagena and Cali.
The couple will be championing several causes on their visit including mental health awareness and the dangers which exist online.
Described as a “cultural and social visit”, the quasi-royal tour will “illuminate Colombia’s role as a beacon of culture and innovation”.
However, because of the country’s many problems and desire to have billions of foreign debt forgiven, some have accused authorities of using the royals as “political pawns”.
Vice president Marquez, who is the first black woman to hold the role, explained that she was inspired to invite the couple to Colombia after watching the Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan.
“[The documentary] moved me and made me say that this is a woman who deserves to come to our country to tell her story,” she said. “This exchange will undoubtedly empower so many women in the world.”
While the details of the first two days of the visit have been released to the press, the remaining itinerary has not yet been released for security reasons.
It has, however, been confirmed that Harry and Meghan will visit the first free slave down in the Americas, San Basilio de Palenque, and the Petronio Alvarez music festival.
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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)
