Prince Harry and Meghan Markle land poor Colombia with massive £1.5m security bill
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's security in Colombia has cost the country a whopping £1.5million, local media have claimed.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s quasi-royal tour in Colombia has reportedly cost the country a whooping £1.5 million (8billion pesos) just for their security, local media have claimed.
In a report which has now been taken down by news website CW Noticias, it was claimed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s security during their four-day trip to the South American country included 3,000 police and soldiers, helicopters, sniffer dogs, bomb disposal units among others.
The Sussex couple were invited to Colombia by Vice President Francia Márquez and were provided with a full security detail during their visit.
Harry and Meghan quit their royal duties in 2020 and no longer travel at the request of the UK Government on official overseas royal visits.
Ms Márquez represents the left-wing Historic Pact for Colombia coalition. However, the latest quasi-royal tour’s security cost has sparked outrage among several people in the country, which faces various socio-economic problems.
One of those slamming the Sussex tour is right-wing councillor of the city of Cali – where Harry and Meghan ended their visit on Sunday – Andres Escobar.
Mr Escobar took to X to retweet the – now deleted – security cost report by CW Noticias and said: “We continue with an ancient practice: handing over our resources in exchange for smoke and mirrors.
“Billions that could have been used to expand coverage of children’s soup kitchens, pay salaries for community mothers, seed capital for Afro communities or adapt sports venues that are practically in ruins.”
He also accused Ms Marquez of “wasting public money on her vanity” and “spending our taxes on ‘rich white people’ for photo opportunities and social media”.
