:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/EPDKF5SFCRAHLGWK5WYM5BUS2A.jpg "Colombia deploys the Army in Bogotá due to a rise in robberies and homicides")
The government of Colombia on Wednesday in Bogotá deployed some 360 soldiers of the Military Police to make patrols and reinforce the security of the city, where the numbers of robberies and homicides have skyrocketed in recent months.
“The purpose of this additional force is to accompany specific checkpoints in the city, in the most critical places and to control the issue of homicides, which affects both tranquility, and theft,” Defense Minister Diego Molano said in a statement to the press.
In recent days, the city has experienced lurid scenes in which thieves stab, threaten with guns and, in some cases, murder citizens during robberies, just as there are gangs that are robbing restaurants in broad daylight in crowded sectors of Bogota.
CRISIS IN THE CAPITAL
Between January and August, according to figures from the Ministry of Security, 65,207 thefts from people were registered, 12,116 more than in the same period of 2020.
Likewise, vehicle thefts soared from 2,037 in the first eight months of 2020 to 2,204 in the same period last year; of mobile phones, from 30,330 to 35,781, and of motorcycles, from 2,131 to 3,021.
Meanwhile, bicycle thefts fell from 7,146 to 6,542; to businesses, from 8,253 to 5,515, and to residences, from 5,299 to 4,922.
MAYOR’S REQUEST
In this situation, the mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, asked the Government yesterday for a military deployment for the soldiers to carry out, together with the Police, work of “dissuasive vigilance and disarmament” in the face of the crisis that the city is experiencing.
“In no case will there be militarization of Bogotá, but we do find it convenient for the Military Police to support the Bogotá Metropolitan Police personnel in two very specific tasks: patrolling crime deterrent surveillance in certain critical areas that are experiencing theft problems and also at checkpoints for disarmament,” Lopez said.
These uniformed men join the more than 1,500 reinforcement police officers who arrived in the city a month ago, as well as initiatives for social investment, disarmament and security fronts with citizens seeking to reduce crime in the Colombian capital.