On plain greenthat neighborhood under a pungent sun that leaves one breathless next to extensive fields of cane fields and from where the central buildings of Cali can be seen from a great distance, death and fear continue to lie in wait for its inhabitants.
He went there where almost two years ago, five adolescents were murdered when they went to the cane fields, on the back side of this sector in the east of the Valle del Cauca capital and that organized armed groups usually frequent to intimidate to its inhabitants, many of them, in displaced conditions and living between misery and unemployment.
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There, As in other neighborhoods of communes 13, 14, 15 and 21, in eastern Cali, these armed groups are imposing the forced recruitment of minors, Therefore, the mayor of Cali, Jorge Iván Ospina, with his Secretary of Security, Carlos Soler, and other officials, accompanied by the commander of the Metropolitan Police, General Juan Carlos León, have been issuing alerts.
They join the early warning that the Ombudsman’s Office launched at the beginning of the year due to the presence of these armed rebels and who work in alliance with drug traffickers to move drugs, above all, on the border of the Cauca River that borders the east, northeast and southeast of Cali, right there, where Llano Verde is.
Mayor Ospina with his work team was in Llano Verde on February 25 to listen to the community and evaluate the security conditions in the sector,
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The meeting was attended by those in charge of the secretariats of Government, Health, Peace, Mobility, Social Welfare, Security, Citizen Participation and Sports, along with delegates from Metrocali, Emcali, the Governor’s Office of the Valley, the Personería de Cali, the Attorney General’s Office, the Ombudsman’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF), Metropolitan Police, National Army and members of Community Action Boards (JAC) and Local Administrators (JAL).
The Cali president assured that there the citizens are exposed to many problems and face social deficiencies.
He acknowledged: “In areas of exclusion, we find that criminal activity deepens. That is why we know that crime prevention must be inter-institutional and linked to the citizenry”.
He explained that the meeting was brought forward to “know how the institutional presence is now to know what should be reinforced or made visible.”
Likewise, he stressed the importance of holding dialogues with residents of the sector “to collect information in a confidential manner and prevent their rights from being violated.
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Ospina added that “the characteristics of this neighborhood, which brings together such a diverse population and with backgrounds linked to displacement processes, as a State we must guarantee that they are not re-victimized.”
He also asked each official to present the offer coordinated by their offices, such as justice services; health posts; programs to promote recreation, sports, culture, education and care for the vulnerable population, through community kitchens and peace laboratories.
The Secretary of Security referred to the actions in terms of security and mentioned the operation of four security fronts, 16 cameras for video surveillance, as well as programs for the prevention of crime and gender violence, and the visits of officials from the House of Itinerant Justice.
“Our objective is to reactivate the planning tables because Llano Verde is one of the neighborhoods with the greatest institutional offer in Cali. We are significantly improving indicators such as homicides, but the goal is to address other problems that continue to affect the community in this area”, he pointed out.
The president of the Local Administrative Board, Gilberto Agualimpia, said that synergy with the authorities should be increased.
CALI
