Colombia’s new national police chief, General Jose Roberto Leon Riaño, declared war on urban crime Tuesday.
During his inauguration as Colombia’s highest police official, Riaño said that crimes that “affect citizens,” such as the robbery of mobile phones, drug dealing and extortion, would receive full attention of his administration, while stating that he would continue the fight against illegal armed groups.
“Citizen security will be the banner of my administration, without letting go of the frontal struggle against illegal armed groups,” said the newly inaugurated police chief at the event attended by President Juan Manuel Santos.
Riaño also said that security forces in urban centers would be strengthened, while authorities would encourage a “culture of legality” from within police institutions.
“One must fight organized crime [that] penetrates the institutions. We will fight those who take advantage of the mining sector to tap the country’s blood. We will close the door on narco-trafficking routes and we will destroy this network of criminals”, said the new director of Colombia’s National Police.
Riaño succeeds Oscar Naranjo who announced he will become an external security adviser for the Inter-American Development Bank.
