Terrorism in Colombia did go up in 2012, the country’s defense minister confirmed Saturday, adding however that this year the number of acts of terrorism dropped significantly.
Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon confirmed the claims made by the US State Department which in its Annual Country Reports on Terrorism, in which the US said more than 700 terrorist attacks were carried out last year.
MORE: Terrorist attacks in Colombia went up in 2012: US
While not challenging the US statistics, the Colombian defense minister stressed that statistics in the first five months of this year are “much more favorable,” reported Caracol Radio.
“More than 500 [of 1,100] municipalities have not seen one homicide and kidnapping dropped 20% in 2013 compared to the same period last year,” Pinzon was quoted as saying.
The minister stressed that at this point, Colombians are more concerned about organized crime than terrorism.
“To have public security, to have security in their daily lives” is what Colombians want improved, said Pinzon.
Facing security challenges in Colombia’s largest cities and in areas where drug trafficking organizations exercise control, The Colombian government has increasingly put a focus on urban security and fighting neo-paramilitary groups like “Los Urabeños” or drug cartels like “Los Rastrojos.”