Buenaventura, Colombia: Governor of Valle del Cauca Asks the National Government to Militarize City

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

In the Pacific port city, clashes between the criminal gangs "Los Jaliscos", "Los Shottas", "Los Espartanos" and "Los Roberts" have intensified.

In recent weeks, the public order situation in Buenaventura has been complicated. Videos of the criminal gang "Los Roberts" have been disseminated on social networks. In these, the group threatens to take control of the territory and remove the fourth criminal gang from Buenaventura "Los Jaliscos".

"We are not going to allow them to enter the neighborhood El Progreso, Bello Horizonte, Carlos Holmes, Bahía... This is our territory. 'The Jaliscos' are in Mexico. In Buenaventura it's us," says one of the hooded men who appears in the videos. 

According to El Espectador, "Los Roberts" are one of the criminal groups that resulted from the dissolution of "La Empresa", one of the gangs that until 6 years ago operated in Buenaventura.

"Los Roberts" is one of the groups that was in dialogue with the National Government to establish an end to clashes between gangs. However, at the beginning of April of this year, the talks broke down. The delegates of "Los Espartanos" and "Los Shottas" disappeared, which resulted in the end of the truce

What has the Government said about it?

The Ministry of Defense has announced that a strategy will be activated together with the Public Forces to guarantee the safety of the civilians of Buenaventura. Patrols in the neighborhoods affected by the operation of criminal gangs will be increased and a $200 million reward will be given to those who deliver information about the men seen in the video.

However, social leader Leonard Rentería has criticized the work of the National Police regarding the security situation in Buenaventura. "Minister they were already getting late, well that they advance on that, but advance on issues of counterintelligence, there is talk that there are policemen who in some cases of disturbance of public order last week were some policemen next to those who formed the disorder, you have to investigate because that does not help...," he wrote on his social networks.

Rubén Dario Jaramillo, one of the facilitators of the peace process in Buenaventura, told the newspaper El Espectador that one of the catalysts of the situation in Buenaventura is the delay in the introduction of the Submission Law. The main thing is that the construction of the Submission Law has been greatly delayed. 

When we started with the truce, we thought that this was going to be a short-term issue and that has discouraged the leaders of the gangs who are in the prisons, because they don't see the law moving forward," he said.

The Governor of Valle del Cauca requested to militarize Buenaventura

The Governor of Valle del Cauca, Clara Luz Roldán, requested that the special district of Buenaventura be militarized. He mentioned the urgency of taking measures against illegal economies in the city. This call has been joined by other officials such as the President of the Senate, Alexander López.

"President Gustavo Petro, Ministry of Defense, and Ivan Velasquez, the city of Buenaventura needs the Army to arrive, occupy the entire territory, protect the community and STAY," Clara Luz Roldán wrote on her Twitter account. So far, President Gustavo Petro has not spoken about it.

Alertas RD  Colombia AS