Colombia Judge Orders Museum to Preserve Removed Objects

Colombia’s National Museum must preserve objects removed from its galleries and may not remove further items because of their content without formal justification, under a provisional order issued by a Bogotá judge. The order follows protests over the removals and criticism from cultural institutions; it does not decide whether the government acted lawfully. The dispute began after President Abelardo de la Espriella said he directed Culture Minister Paola Holguín to remove material he described as odes to terrorism, including images associated with former guerrilla commander Carlos Pizarro. Holguín defended the museum’s review, saying it should not serve as a vehicle for political indoctrination or promote biased versions of history. She said curatorial practices across spaces overseen by the ministry were being reviewed and redesigned. The removed objects included material related to LGBTQ and feminist movements, political violence and the 2016 peace agreement. Among them were a pride flag belonging to activist Elizabeth Castillo and campaign posters for Pizarro and Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, two presidential candidates assassinated in 1990. Other material concerned women’s...