Report: Killings continue in Colombia city at alarming rate
Mar 4, 2:16 PM EST
Report: Killings continue in Colombia city at alarming rate
By JOSHUA GOODMAN
Associated Press
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Criminal gangs continue to operate freely in the port city of Buenaventura, carrying out murders and dismembering victims at an alarming rate one year after Colombia created a special task force to curb violence there, Human Rights Watch says in a new report released Wednesday.
A year ago, President Juan Manuel Santos sent additional police and prosecutors to boost security in what has long been one of Colombia's most-violent cities and a haven for paramilitary groups and drug traffickers.
Since then, murders have declined and arrests have gone up. But gangs comprised of former right-wing paramilitaries continue to exert control over entire neighborhoods, extorting businesses at will and threatening women with rape, according to the advocacy group.
The existence of so-called "chop-up houses" where victims are disappeared and dismembered in the city have been the focus of much of the attention on Buenaventura by the government and news media.
More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_COLOMBIA_HUMAN_RIGHTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-03-04-14-09-58
