Crime in Colombia’s 11 biggest cities has dropped 25% in the first week of a recently kicked off offensive against urban crime, President Juan Manuel Santos claimed on Saturday.
Santos made the claim while visiting Buenaventura, a city on the Pacific coast that has suffered an increase in drug trafficking-related violence over the past years.
“In the first week we have achieved a reduction in crime of 25% in the 11 cities,” the president claimed boldly.
According to the president, police have arrested some 2,500 alleged criminals in numerous operations since operation “Vamos Seguros” began on October 14.
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Colombian police have dismantled four organizations dedicated to phone theft, seven drug trafficking rings and 17 gangs dedicated to armed robbery,” the president’s website said.
Additionally, 216 weapons were allegedly seized.
In Buenaventura, not one homicide occurred between October 6 and 23, Santos said.
The Santos administration began the urban crime offensive after increasing discontent with the government’s crime policies.
Santos has claimed dropping homicide rates, but defense ministry statistics show that nationwide armed robberies have gone up 50% since 2010 when the president first took office.
Extortion went up a staggering 255% during the same period.
Sources
- Avanza con éxito plan de choque ‘Vamos seguros’, afirma el Jefe de Estado (President’s Office)
- Logros de la Política Integral de Seguridad y Defensa para la Prosperidad (Defense Ministry)
