SANTA MARTA, Colombia (AP) — Troops patrolled the unusually empty streets of Colombia’s Caribbean resort city of Santa Marta on Wednesday as President Abelardo de la Espriella tried to restore order a day after an outburst of violence blamed on a drug-trafficking gang.
Residents in a working-class neighborhood in the city’s northeast lined up outside the few supermarkets that remained open as police officers carrying rifles stood guard.
“We woke up
this morning afraid to go out and see what the situation was, but you have to go out to stock up on supplies,” taxi driver Antonio Ochoa said.
On Tuesday, arsonists set ablaze at least three vehicles, including a taxi and a public bus, and armed men threatened merchants in broad daylight, plunging the city into fear. De la Espriella blamed the Sierra Nevada Self-Defense Forces and ordered troops to the city in response.
The president said the group planned to “set fire” to parts of the Caribbean region in retaliation for a military operation that killed José Pérez Villanueva, known as “Cholo” and identified by the government as the group’s second-in-command.
“I swear by Colombia and by my life that I will finish them off,” de la Espriella warned Tuesday night from Santa Marta, wearing a bulletproof vest while touring the city in an armored vehicle. “I will leave no stone unturned until I find them... and if they do not surrender, I will send them to hell in a body bag.”
De la Espriella took office last month after vowing to wield an “iron fist” against illegal armed groups. His deployment of troops to Santa Marta, a city of about 480,000 people, is the first of his administration.
The president also has halted all peace talks with armed groups begun by his progressive predecessor, Gustavo Petro. Those included negotiations with self-defense forces like the Sierra Nevada one, which emerged following the demobilization of paramilitary groups in the early 2000s.
According to the police, the group operates in the departments of Magdalena — where Santa Marta is located — La Guajira, and Cesar, and has been implicated in crimes such as drug trafficking and extortion.
Magdalena Gov. María Margarita Guerra toured the public market Wednesday where all vegetable, fruit and meat stalls were shuttered. She and her team handed out flyers reading “Extortion doesn’t pay” and encouraged vendors to reopen.
“I know it’s hard to trust. There have been decades of violence, but we have to do our part and say, ‘Let’s unite,’” Guerra told reporters. She called reopening the public market vital, describing it as the “heart of commerce.”
Guerra estimated that more than 1,500 additional police officers and military personnel had been deployed across the region.
Meanwhile, hundreds of tourists relaxed on Santa Marta’s beach, listening to music, drinking beer and sunbathing, even as most nearby restaurants and shops remained closed.
Orlando Andrade, 64, said he was caught off guard by the armed strike in the city center Tuesday when he noticed public transportation was scarce. When he asked why, a street vendor told him to “hide.”
“The strike did affect us because we couldn’t enjoy other beaches,” said Andrade, a journalist vacationing with his family.
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