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The number of homicides in Colombia’s third-largest city Cali is rising, with an average of four murders a day, according to the mayor.
A total of 1,114 people were murdered so far this year, Mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina told Caracol Radio.
Ospina called for a change in the national government’s security policy. According to the mayor, national authorities should focus more on urban areas where violence has been on the rise since 2008.
The mayor also demanded something be done about the prosecution of those caught carrying illegal firearms. Of suspects arrested with an illegal weapon, 85% are back on the street “within hours,” the official said.
In 2009, a total of 1,615 people were murdered in Cali, which was a 16% increase on the year before.
