Armed confrontation in the urban area of Buenaventura

On the night of this Tuesday, around 6 in the afternoon, a confrontation between two criminal gangs in the Juan XXIII neighborhoodin commune seven, in the municipality of Buenaventura.

According to preliminary versions, the inhabitants of the sector were left in the middle of the crossfire and, they had to take refuge in their homes and even under their beds to protect yourself from bullets.

In dialogue with RCN World, Leonard Rentería, social leader of the portassured that in 48 hours there have been two clashesin the same neighborhood, between the criminal gangs ‘los shotas’ and ‘los espartanos’which, he specified, “have control of the territory of Buenaventura.”

You may be interested in: Cali is the city with the most cases of ‘sicariato’, according to Futuros Urbanos

“The reality of Buenaventura has been crossed by the upsurge in violence, On Monday, the confrontation between two criminal gangs that have control of the territory was recorded. Today it was repeated and, after almost two hours of fire, the Public Force intervened to control the situation “assured the leader.

In the same way, he stressed that this type of confrontation they have been registered in several areas of the port such as communes 5, 6 and 7territories that in the last year have been victims of this type of attack.

The leader stressed that, after two hours, the public force managed to control the situation, however, He asserted that once the authorities withdraw from the area, the clashes return.

Finally, he called the National Government to ensure security in Buenaventura, because, according to him, both the District administration, such as the authorities, They have been negligent with the situation.

“(…) We ask the new National Government, guarantees so that life and peace are respected in Buenaventura, I do not expect anything from the Governor of the Valley or the mayor. We hope that the Government has the capacity to deal with this problem with complete solutionsended.

Also read: They urgently ask the Government for a security council in the Valley in the face of a wave of violence

sector residents they recorded the moments of tension they experienced with their cell phones and, in which you can hear phrases of anguish, such as: “they killed us”, “help us God” and “they are going to kill us all”.

#Attention In the Juan XXIII neighborhood of #bonaventure, an armed attack by Organized Criminal Groups was recorded. The Public Force responded to the attack and, due to the exchange of shots, the inhabitants had to take refuge to protect their lives. pic.twitter.com/IVAh2Y2jjq

– RCN Radio Cali (@RCN980cali) August 31, 2022

The Public Force controlled the situation

From the Juan XXIII neighborhood, the Secretary of Government of Buenaventura, Arlintong Agudelo Renteríaassured that once the authorities and the District administration learned of the case, the rapid action of the Public Force was deployed.

#Peaceful| From the Juan XXIII neighborhood, the Secretary of the Government of Buenaventura, Arlintong Agudelo Rentería, assured that once the authorities and the District administration became aware of the case, the rapid action of the Public Force was deployed and the situation was controlled. pic.twitter.com/VzLoF0PBb8

– RCN Radio Cali (@RCN980cali) August 31, 2022

According to the official, the attack was controlled with the presence of the Police, the National Navy and the Gaula of the Navy, who from various points, acted to prevent the dispersal of criminals in the area.

“The Public Force was present through the Esteros San Antonio, closing any gap so that the criminal armed groups, they could not make a massive presence and alter public order in the community of Juan XXIII”said the secretary.

Also, thanked the timely collaboration of the community and assured that the interaction between society, the District administration, has allowed guarantee fundamental rights, not only in the neighbourhood, but in the port.

Also read: Report finding of human head in Andalusia, Valle del Cauca

Through his Twitter account, the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, spoke about the tense situation in Buenaventura.

In his Tweet, the head of state assured that both the National Police, like the National Navy are in immediate reaction.