Colombia’s city and town councillors declared themselves to increasingly be targeted by guerrillas and emerging gangs across the country and that the State is failing to provide adequate security protection for them.
10 town councillors have been murdered this year and 400 have been killed over the last decade in Colombia claimed a report by news site Caracol Radio on Monday.
Fabio Estradas, from the Federation of Councillors stated that there had been 50 attemted attacks on members of the organization this year which had left several injured. He confirmed that some two thousand town councillors have been obliged to seek special protection measure in order to counteract the risks they face.
“Risk for councillors is going to get worse, it has practically confined us to our houses … we must organize a security plan … the State must excersise concrete actions to guarantee our safety,” stated Estradas.
The Federation of Councillors revealed that more than half the country faces security issues regarding the profession of their members and more than 90% of the councillors are among the most vulnerable sector of the population while they earn a salary of approximately $160USD monthly.
The Federation claimed that if the Colombian government does not introduce sufficient safety measures the councillors will be obliged to seek international assistance.