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July 23, 2009
The Death of Chicho and a Report on Extortion
Yesterday afternoon, dozens of men in cars and on motorcycles began to speed through four neighborhoods in the Northeast of the city ordering all commercial establishments to close and all buses transportation to stop operating.
Chicho, the alleged 2nd in command of the criminal organization known as Los Triana, had died of cancer, and his footsoldiers ordered the shutdown of those neighborhoods as a massive act of solidarity. Los Triana is a gang that has operated in the Medellin area for many years, surviving a series of battles and alliances with drug cartels and paramilitary groups.
Although the police set up checkpoints, stores remained closed and not a single bus moved through the area. Meanwhile, a caravan of 400 people, including 30 motorcycles, 20 cars and about a dozen buses, moved slowly through the neighborhoods for two hours while police and local residents looked on.
The police were also present at a cemetery in the town of Copacabana, about fifteen minutes north of Medellin, where Chicho was to be buried. Nevertheless, as the caravan approached, armed men on motorcycles came in and out freely to say their last goodbye to their leader.Chicho was buried amidst applause from dozens of his subordinates, without any interruptions by the police.
This is a city where the authorities claim to be in control, but in a lot of areas, that is clearly not the case. In Medellin, everyone knows who the big criminals are. Their names and photographs are in major newspapers and their stories are told onstreet corners throughout the city. Despite all this, powerful crime lords live in the city in relative comfort. There is a deeply rooted culture of tolerance for organized crime as long as it does not cause excessive violence.
To give another example, Q'hubo, a local street newspaper released an extensive article about extortion in Medellin. According to Q’hubo’s investigation, in the downtown area and poor neighborhoods, nearly every store, house, bus, street vendor and drug dealer pays protection money to criminal groups and CONVIVIR . An official who was interviewed said part of the issue was cultural: people want to pay protection money because that is how they've maintained safety in their neighborhoods for decades. Today, extortion is a normal part of everyday life.
Posted by Pablo Rojas at July 23, 2009 03:18 PM
