An ongoing security crisis in Medellin spurred the city’s police chief to imply homicide victims are “bad” people and the mayor to blame judges for not imprisoning arrested crime suspects.
The security policy of Mayor Federico Gutierrez has failed to show positive results since the prodigy of former mayor and Antioquia governor Sergio Fajardo took office in 2016.
The mayor’s credibility received a major blow after the arrest of his personally appointed security secretary on charges the dynasty politician was a long-time associate of the Oficina de Envigado, the crime syndicate that has effectively controlled the city after being founded by late drug lord and Congressman Pablo Escobar.
Medellin security secretary arrested on organized crime charges
The arrest sent a shock wave through both the city’s ruling elite and underworld, and further elevated the number of homicides in Medellin.
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Notwithstanding, the mayor has refused to accept responsibility. Instead, he renewed unconfirmed claims La Oficina is trying to kill him.
Medellin’s chief of police took the shifting of responsibility a step further over the weekend when he implied that the city’s growing number of homicide victims were criminals.
General Oscar Gomez
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The police general’s comment was met with fierce criticism as it did not only shift blame to homicide victims, but also legitimized a “type of violence that has done so much harm to our country; the badly called ‘social cleansing'” or assassinating of people considered undesirable by illegal armed groups or police, sociologist Max Yuri Gil told local newspaper El Colombiano.
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On Wednesday, the police chief was forced to apologize on Caracol Radio, sort of.
General Oscar Gomez
However, before the police commander had apologized, the mayor had already gotten in a conflict with the judicial workers’ union after claiming the judicial branch was to blame for the deteriorating security situation.
Mayor Federico Gutierrez
Judicial workers’ union Asonal was quick to remind the mayor that the judicial branch is an independent branch of government in any democratic state.
Judicial workers’ union Asonal
The union accused the mayor of trying to pressure the city’s judges of to jail “any person accused by them” “to please media interests or favor political interests.”
While those responsible for security in Medellin are either in jail or blaming victims, the paramilitary violence in the west in the city continued.
In the first week of August, 18 people were assassinated, more than twice the number of homicides registered in the same week last year.