Colombian capital is powder keg

– On the streets of a Bogota neighbourhood where a businessman was killed for refusing to pay protection money, retired soldiers sporting weapons and camouflage gear keep a watchful eye on every movement.

Similar “self-defence” groups have sprung up all over Colombia’s capital, a city of some eight million people, which has experienced a surge in robberies and killings since the beginning of the year.

As fear has risen, residents and business owners are taking matters into their own hands in a country with low levels of trust in the authorities.

“We are taking care of security. There are armed people here, but within the law. We are not illegal, we are military pensioners and the traders are paying us,” one of the sentinels said.

Wearing ski masks and military-style boots, they refused to give their names.

Some said they were paid by shop owners – several of whom confirmed to AFP they were relying on hired guns to protect their lives and possessions.

Other guards claimed they work with the Gaula, official law enforcement divisions in the police and military to combat kidnapping and extortion. But Gaula officials say the sentries have nothing to do with them.

Shopkeepers in 7 de Agosto told AFP of the conditions in which one of their friends was killed, falling victim to the “Satanas” gang.

The criminals “come ... they demand money, and if they [don’t get it] they say: ‘Kill them,’” recounted one vendor who now carries a gun, a privilege that under law is normally reserved for the security forces.

Large posters have gone up all over the neighbourhood with the slogan: “I don’t pay, I report!”

There is no official crime data for 2024, but mayor Carlos Galan recently said: “It is not a matter of perception... Bogota is insecure.”

Last month, the office of the ombud, which monitors civil and human rights, warned Bogota was the epicentre of a dispute between the Venezuela-headquartered Aragua Train criminal group and the Gulf Clan, Colombia’s biggest drug cartel.

Bogota has been comparatively peaceful and safe in recent years.

Many fear that is now changing. –