Colombian Government Announces New Security Approach for Bogota

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced on Wednesday what he called a new security approach for the capital, Bogota, which will emphasize a plan to combat money laundering and drug trafficking.

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The information was revealed after several hours of the first security council meeting between the Mayor's Office of Bogota and the new Colombian administration, a forum in which the mayor, Claudia Lopez, presented seven proposals to President Gustavo Petro to improve security in the capital.

According to the mayor, "the first of these proposals is to strengthen the intelligence units, reinforce joint social investment, strengthen the Houses of Justice, move forward with the two bills to regulate prison powers, extend the restorative justice model; these are some of the proposals we have put forward."

For his part, President Petro agreed with the mayor on the need to improve social conditions to reduce crime rates. In this regard, the president said that "if poverty decreases, crime decreases," insisting on his proposal to implement what he called "restorative justice," at the time, he highlighted that the approach of criminalization for simple crimes must be changed.

By homicide rate: the number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, which is the international indicator of violence; the city of Bogotá has become the least violent capital of Colombia. Most Colombian cities lower their homicide rate.

Petro highlighted the progress made by the capital at reducing homicides over the last 30 years, during part of which the current president was mayor.

"Bogota is about to leave behind the world of violent cities and move to the world of cities in a real peace process; it is about to reach a homicide rate of 10 per 100,000 inhabitants."