Santa Marta woke up under heavy military and police protection Wednesday after violence blamed on the Los Pachenca armed group brought much of the Colombian coastal city to a standstill.
President Abelardo De la Espriella ordered more than 500 soldiers and 600 police officers deployed across Santa Marta, neighboring Ciénaga, and the Troncal del Caribe. Colombian Air Force Kfir jets are part of the government response to the crisis in the Magdalena Department.
“I have ordered the city militarized,” De la Espriella said after an emergency security meeting at the Córdova Battalion. “Police presence will also be increased in Ciénaga because you are not alone.”
The violence followed Monday’s death of José Luis Pérez Villanueva, known as “Cholo,” during an operation in Quebrada del Sol, near Guachaca. Authorities identified him as the second-in-command of the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada, or ACSN, the armed organization commonly known as Los Pachenca.
Cholo and six other alleged members of the group were killed during an operation involving anti-narcotics police, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Colombian Air Force.
In apparent retaliation, Los Pachenca announced a 48-hour paro armado, or armed strike. Unlike a conventional labor stoppage, an armed strike is imposed through threats and violence, forcing residents to stay home while businesses and transportation operators suspend operations.
Caracol Radio reported that masked men riding motorcycles ordered stores to close in several neighborhoods. Gunfire was reported outside businesses in Cristo Rey, Gaira, and Los Olivos, while commercial activity stopped around Carreras 5 and 6 and the Public Market.
Public buses disappeared from the streets, leaving many residents unable to travel. Magdalena assembly member Johan Pinedo said drivers had been threatened, while passengers and operators were reportedly ordered off buses in El Yucal and El Cisne.
A tractor-trailer was set on fire on the Troncal del Caribe near Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia. A taxi was also burned, while freight vehicles were attacked along the highway and in the Zona Bananera.
“Today they burned a couple of vehicles. They fired at four businesses,” De la Espriella said. “They are using these incidents to generate terror in society.”
According to the authorities, nine suspects were detained and were being prosecuted, and four alleged Los Pachenca leaders were identified as priority targets, including Fredy Castillo Carrillo, known as “Pinocho.”
Although officials said the main roads had reopened, traffic remained sparse, and many stores stayed closed Wednesday. A temporary restriction on motorcycles was lifted at 6 AM. No curfew was announced.
