Colombian authorities announced the creation of a special task force in
Medellín to combat the increase in violence between drug trafficking gangs in the
city.
Felipe Muñoz, director of the Administrative Department for Security (DAS in Spanish) said he will ask Medellín mayor, Alonso Salazar, to assign seven more police patrols to strengthen the military presence in the region. He will also request the formation of a specialized group, whose task will be to investigate drug gang related crime.
Some 500 extra soldiers are already stationed in the most violent zones of the city, primarily the north-eastern sector which house the poorest suburbs.
Their presence is in response to violence between rival drug gangs that errupted last week, in which 29 people were killed.
