in response to increasing violence in the city of Cali, Colombia’s defense minister on Friday announced the reactivation of the famous ‘search bloc’ police unit which operated against the Cali drug cartels in the ’90s.
The unit consists of 700 members from the Judicial Police, the prosecutor general’s Technical Investigation Unit (CTI), the National Army, the elite hostage-rescue force (GAULA), and elite combat groups, who will again be deployed in Cali to confront the escalating violence attributed to drug trafficking gangs including ‘los Rastrojos’ and ‘los Urabeños’.
MORE: Increase of homicides in Cali worrying: Ombudsman
The unit will be divided into special task forces who will each specialize in a specific area, including homicide, intelligence, and strategic “shock operations.”
Cali Mayor Roberto Guerrero revealed that they had asked for the reactivation after the percentage of the homicide rate attributed to violence between the drug trafficking gangs reached 45%.
FACT SHEET: Cali crime statistics
Sources
- Se reactiva el bloque de búsqueda de la Policía en Cali (La Red independiente)
- Jefes de estructuras delincuenciales son el objetivo de cuerpo élite de la Policía en Cali (El Pais)
