President Juan Manuel Santos petitioned Colombia’s military, Wednesday, to support the police in the fight agains criminal gangs.
Santos made this announcement in light of the alleged cooperation of criminal gangs with terrorist groups.
“The fight against these gangs, which is a priority of the National Police, also has to occur with support of the Armed Forces, with the clear goal to control and eradicate them, even more taking into account that they are starting to work together with terrorist groups,” said Santos in a press release.
Santos further stated that “we also have to take into account that the criminal gangs, which are are a division of drug trafficking organizations, are involved in other (criminal) activities.”
He also explained that blows against the drug traffickers are very important since they effect the structures that finance terrorist groups.
“Therefore, the primary demand of the Armed Forces today is to adapt to and anticipate changes (in terrorist activity), so that we can give definite blows to narco-terorrist groups (and) the structures that finance them from drug trade,” Santos added.