Bishop in Columbia says Criminal Violence has Escalated to War "there is no violence here, but a real war"

AMERICA/COLOMBIA - The Bishop of Buenaventura: "there is no violence here, but a real war"

Tuesday, 26 January 2021

Buenaventura (Agenzia Fides) - In Colombia, unfortunately, a climate of violence still reigns (see Fides 19/1/2021), and in particular that by gangs and other armed groups continues to increase.

After the request made by the Defender of the People in Buenaventura, it is now the turn of Mgr. Rubén Darío Jaramillo, Bishop of the Diocese of Buenaventura, to demand the intervention of the authorities because, according to his words, "what is happening in the area is not just violence , but a real war".

In some statements made to Radio Caracol and then disseminated by social media, Archbishop Jaramillo denounced that "the situation in the Port of Buenaventura and the whole area is of great concern. In fact, within the framework of the war between gangs, not only rifles and long-range weapons are used, but also machine guns and grenades in order to compete for control of the territory".

The Bishop explained that "the different criminal groups want to seize strategic sectors where drugs are transported and the whole community is hit by bullets, fear, because the economy is affected, certain basic products do not reach the port and others are blocked by criminals who impose a tax on all products".

In the past few days alone, about 200 people have left the area, reports the note sent to Fides, and another 500,000 are trapped at the scene of the fighting. "We know that a large group of families are preparing to flee the area, this means that something terrible is about to happen", concluded Mgr. Jaramillo. (CE) (Full Text Release: Agenzia Fides, 26/1/2021)

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