Forty-five family members of man who was shot last week in Colombia’s second largest city Medellin have reportedly been displaced from their homes following threats from illegal armed groups operating in neighborhood.
According to newspaper El Espectador, the father and grandfather, Victor Pacheco, of Afro-Colombian decent, was shot by in the early morning Monday.
Medellin authorities suspect the shooting may have occurred in retaliation to Pacheco’s sons’ refusal to join the illegal armed group during the gang’s neighborhood recruitment efforts.
Pacheco had moved to Comuna 13, a low-income western Medellin neighborhood, two years ago after living in the Colombian Pacific state of Choco. Since then, he had successfully moved the majority of his family to come live with him in the capital city of the Antioquia state.
Medellin Ombudsman Jesus Sanchez said that between the first of January and October of this year, violence had displaced a total of 5,700 individuals in the neighborhood of Comuna 13 alone.
“These conditions expose the social problems of Medellin and stand as evidence of the armed conflict,” said Sanchez.
While the Pacheco family has not given the name of the armed group that issued the threats, the Mayor’s Office in a release said that the family is in “protective custody” and that police authorities have been notified and are “cross-checking information to identify the responsible.”
Sources
- Asesinato desplazó a 45 miembros de una familia en Medellín (El Espectador)
- Medellin Mayor’s Office Press release