Just a few shots..................Ch*ld's play compared to my beloved hometown.................Medallo
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-new ... amage.html Medellin metro suspended due to gunfire damage
Thursday, 12 August 2010 15:45 Cameron Sumpter
gang medellin
Medellin authorities regain control of the San Javier neighborhood Juan XIII after gang warfare paralyzed the area Tuesday, but the metrocable remains closed due to damage from gunfire.
The fighting between rivals gangs "La Agonia" and "La Divisa" caused chaos in the neighborhood. Gang members were gunned down in battles, forcing residents to stay indoors, and 250 school Ch*ldren to be locked inside their school.
The K-line service of Medellin's metro, a cable car which connects San Javier with La Aurora, has been suspended because the Juan XIII station and three of the cars were damaged by gunfire.
Sixty people were arrested once order was restored in the neighborhood, and Medellin Mayor Alonso Salazar asked the national government for assistance to deal with the gang warfare.
Salazar called on newly sworn-in Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to speed up the process of electing a new prosecutor general, who will be able to adopt special measures to help local authorities combat the soaring murder rate.
According to the Medellin mayor, the area witnessed 124 homicides in the first half of this year, twenty more than the latter half of 2009.
Violence has been soaring in Medellin since the beginning of 2009 when the government of former President Alvaro Uribe extradited leaders of the demobilized paramilitary coalition AUC, who were accused of continuing to rule the city's underworld.
According to the national police, two new paramilitary leaders, Sebastian and Valenciano, are now fighting for control of the drug trade left without a clear leader after the AUC leaders' extradition. The violence left more than 2,000 people dead in 2009 and continued to worsen in the first half of this year.
And:
Police arrest 100 members of illegal armed groups
Tuesday, 10 August 2010 10:46 Kirsten Begg
colombian police
Colombia's police reported the arrest 100 members of illegal armed groups during the last week of former President Alvaro Uribe's leadership.
According to a police press release, 68 people linked to Medellin-based drug trafficking organization the "Office of Envigado," were arrested, as well as fourteen members of criminal gang "Los de Uraba," thirteen members of "Los Paisas" and two members of the "Aguilas Negras."
Reportedly 83% of the arrests occurred in the central department of Antioquia, three in the northern Cordoba department, two in northern Magdalena, and three others in Cucuta, Choco, and Magdalena Medio.
Between August 2 and August 8 police reportedly seized 60 firearms, seven grenades, 517 cartridges of ammunition and two motorbikes used by hitmen.
The press release reiterated that the national police are offering COP5 billion as a reward for information leading to the capture of the leaders of Colombia's six main criminal gangs.
Prior to handing Colombia's leadership over to President Juan Manuel Santos on Saturday, Uribe pledged that Colombia's armed forces would not sleep in their bid to arrest those criminals still at large before his term ended on August 7.
And:
Medellin asks for help after massive gang warfare
Wednesday, 11 August 2010 18:20 Adriaan Alsema
Colombia news - Army in Medellin
Colombia's second largest city Medellin called in help from the national government Wednesday after massive warfare between gangs paralyzed the city's west.
Mayor Alonso Salazar asked newly sworn-in Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to speed up the process of electing a new prosecutor general, who will be able to adopt special measures to help local authorities combat the soaring murder rate.
Salazar visited the troubled San Javier neighborhood in the west of the city where on Tuesday several members of one gang were executed and combat broke out in the streets. The violence forced inhabitants to stay inside, with 250 Ch*ldren locked inside their school and public transport suspended until long after midnight.
The massive fighting ended after human rights personnel from the Ombudsman's Office, and some 150 policemen and soldiers took control of the neighborhood.
However, some residents accused police and soldiers of being complicit in the violence.
"The same soldiers who are supposedly here to guard the neighborhood stood by and watched while the gangs shot at each other," one resident told Colombia Reports. "Gang members broke down my door and pulled my grandson out of his room and beat him up in the street. Not until several minutes went by did the police take him away and put him in custody."
Seventeen families were forced to flee their houses, fearing retaliation from gangs if they stayed in the neighborhood. Several of the victims testified that gang members threatened to kill anyone who reported that police and soldiers had watched without interfering.
Dozens of alleged members of the "La Divisa" and "La Agonia" gangs, which are active in San Javier, were arrested.
Violence has been soaring in Medellin since the beginning of 2009 when the government of former President Alvaro Uribe extradited leaders of the demobilized paramilitary coalition AUC, who were accused of still ruling the city's underworld.
According to the national police, two new paramilitary leaders, Sebastian and Valenciano, are now fighting for control of the drug trade left uncontrolled after the AUC leaders' extradition. The violence left more than 2,000 people dead in 2009 and continued to worsen in the first half of this year.
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