Colombian President Duque sentenced to house arrest - report

A regional court has sentenced Colombian President Iván Duque to five days of house arrest, local media reported on Saturday.

The court in the western city of Ibagué also fined Duque the equivalent of 15 times the monthly minimum wage, Colombian daily El Espectador reported.

According to the newspaper, Duque had not complied with a Supreme Court order for the government to protect a national park.

The Caracol broadcaster reported that animals and plants had been trafficked from the protected area of the Los Nevados National Park, which is important for water supplies.

According to the reports, Duque gave assurances during a speech in the northern city of Montería that his government was committed to biodiversity and to the protection of the Los Nevados park. He decried the house arrest order as unconstitutional.