Colombia's new president loosens gun control rules
President Abelardo de la Espriella has lifted a decade-long suspension on permits to carry legal firearms.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has signed a decree which eases restrictions on people carrying legal firearms in public.
De la Espriella, who during his campaign for the presidency promised to take an iron-fist approach to crime, said it was "not right that criminals are armed to the teeth while decent people can't defend themselves".
The decree lifts a suspension that had been in force for a decade, which meant that even those in possession of a permit to carry guns could not do so without additional authorisation.
Under the law, even those with a permit to carry a gun could not take it out of their homes unless they applied for - and were granted - additional authorisation.