Paramilitary group AGC began a four-day terror campaign in northwest Colombia on Wednesday in response to the extradition of their former leader, “Otoniel.”
One person was assassinated in the Cordoba province on Thursday allegedly for opening his shop against paramilitary orders.
Public transport companies suspended their services in AGC-controlled territories after at least 50 vehicles were incinerated by presumed paramilitaries.
Locals from Cesar said on social media that traffic was being shut down in their province too. These claims have not been confirmed by independent media.
Journalist Esneyder Negrete
Local television station “La Chiva” from the northwestern Uraba region reported “absolute solitude” in the port city of Turbo on Thursday.
Locals from peripheral neighborhoods in Medellin, Colombia’s second largest city, said that gangs aligned with the AGC ordered the closing of neighborhood shops.
Also in Barranquilla, Colombia’s largest port city on the Caribbean coast, a bus was incinerated.
Defense Minister Diego Molano said that regional authorities had met to “attend possible retaliations” in areas controlled by the paramilitaries and said that five alleged AGC members were arrested.