Operation in Cali: more than 1,200 agents deployed against organised crime
President De la Espriella personally participated in an operation in Cali with more than 1,200 agents against drug trafficking and extortion.
De la Espriella heads major operation in central and eastern Cali
More than 1,200 police and military agents took position in neighbourhoods of central and eastern Cali in the early hours of Thursday, in what Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella described as the most important operation in the city's history, according to independentespanol.com.
The conservative leader arrived in Cali armed and with a police communication radio, equipment that was recorded in a video he himself shared on X. The operation executed dozens of arrest warrants and approximately one hundred searches against suspected perpetrators of drug trafficking and extortion.
"The most important operation in the history of this city has just begun," De la Espriella declared. "We are reclaiming the centre block by block, intervening in buildings, houses and land that should be at the service of Cali residents and never under the control of criminal structures," he added.
The authorities made arrests and seized illegal merchandise, drugs and weapons, although the president did not provide exact figures. De la Espriella used the operation to criticise his predecessor, progressive Gustavo Petro, asserting that the previous government "tied the hands of our police officers".
Cali's mayor, Alejandro Éder, noted during the operation that one of the intervened sectors is an "olla"—a term used to designate drug-dealing points—located next to the city's political centre. "It is not acceptable to have this nest of illegality in the very heart of Cali. We have been waiting more than 50 years for this moment," Éder stated.
The operation in Cali comes days after De la Espriella ordered the militarisation of Santa Marta, one of the country's main tourist destinations, to halt an "armed strike" imposed by the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada. Following military pressure, that group announced the lifting of restrictions as of Friday.
Security policy has been the central axis of De la Espriella's administration, who has travelled through different regions of the country to announce results of operations. That strategy has generated criticism from his opponents, particularly for the practice of displaying the slain in white body bags during operations.
Source: Google News CO — Crime