The ombudsman of Colombia’s third largest city, Cali, said on Monday 327 people were murdered in the city in the first two months of this year, an 18% increase compared to the same period in 2012.
301 of the deaths were caused by firearms, prompting Ombudsman Andres Santamaria Garrido to ask the authorities for a disarmament plan in Cali’s 22 communes. According to Garrido, 12% of the murdered individuals were minors between 13 and 17 years of age.
The ombudsman’s office measured homicides between January 1 and March 3, pointing out that the first three days of March had been particularly violent, with 29 homicides registered in three days.
Cali, located in the southwestern Valle del Cauca department, suffers from high degrees of gang violence and street crime, partly due to the city’s strategic location for Colombia’s drug trade.
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