Colombia’s president on Tuesday ordered the ministry of defense and police to launch raids on crime hotspots in 24 neighborhoods in 20 Colombian cities.
President Juan Manuel Santos instructed the Minister of Defense, Juan Carlos Pinzon, and the National Police Director, Jose Roberto Leon Riaño, to eliminate criminal activity in these areas “in the space of 60 days.”
“The Police are designing specialized strategies for each modality of crime. There are regions where one type of crime is growing or has not been combated with sufficient efficiency. There we will redouble the efforts,” Santos continued.
Interventions against criminal activites will be conducted in the cities of Bogota, Funza, Neiva, Ibague, Pereira, Armenia, Cali, Cartago, Palmira, Tulua, Pasto, Barrancabermeja, Cucuta, Medellin, Rionegro, Villavicencio, Riohacha, Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta.
During a visit to the capital of Bogota, Santos said that these “crime factories” will be subject to strategies that will follow the blueprint laid down by the successful police intervention in the capital’s troubled “Bronx” district. The president said the work performed by the national government, the district government, the police and the prosecutor general had “taken away the control over the [Bronx] territory from the organized crime.”
“What this intervention has showed us is that yes we can finish off [these] factories of crime, the so-called ‘ollas’ [dangerous, dark places]. Close to 24 more ‘ollas’ have been identified across the country in 20 cities.”
Sources
- Presidente Santos revela las veinte ciudades del país en las que serán intervenidas ‘ollas’ de criminalidad (President’s Office)
- Presidente Santos ordena acabar con 24 ‘ollas’ en 20 ciudades del país (President’s Office)
