Bogota‘s police chief says a recent wave of violence in Bogota is due to mafia retaliation against increased pressure from the security forces, Terra.com reported Friday.
Bogota metropolitan police head Francisco Patiño referenced to the fatal blow the authorities dealt drug lord and former paramilitary leader Pedro “El Cuchillo” Guerrero on Christmas Eve 2010.
The past three days have seen the uncovering of four suspected assassinations for hire, one attempted assassination, and a murder plot against a government official.
Lina Pieded Sierra who works for Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office was shot in the head after leaving a Bogota prison in a taxi on Wednesday, but survived.
Terra.com reports that a prison guard in Bogota was murdered, as well as an individual who was administering assets seized from fugitive drug lord Daniel “El Loco” Barrera.
On Thursday two priests were found shot dead in an abandoned car in southern Bogota. According to Terra.com it is not known whether this double homicide is linked to drug gangs.
On Tuesday authorities uncovered an assassination plot against Ana Duran, head of Colombia’s drug control agency UNAIM.
Patiño says, “We are working with the Prosecutor General to investigate these events and we will not allow Bogota to become a place for criminals to commit crimes,” reported Terra.com.