National Government and Mayor's Office will provide greater security to reincorporated people living in Bogotá

Bogotá is one of the areas in the country that receives the most migration, it is estimated that today the capital has an average of 7,181,469 inhabitants. For a long time, part of the migration that has accentuated, is because for years people in areas of violence have escaped looking for ways to rebuild their lives, it is important to clarify that not only have victims arrived, but that ex-combatants have arrived.

Because the capital, like other territories, needs to characterize its inhabitants in order to respond to the needs of the population, in the second half of 2021, a census was conducted to determine how many former FARC combatants were in Bogotá and 604 reincorporates were identified, of which registered 563, corresponding to 363 men and 200 women.

In the process, it was also identified that 60.4% of the ex-FARC in Bogotá arrived before the signing of the Agreement, 25.2% during the signing process and 35.2% throughout 2017. The reason people stated, when asked about the motivations for settling in the capital, were: job opportunities (40%) and the possibility of achieving family reunification (34.2%).

However, one of the alerts that attracted the most attention is the issue of security. Against this background, on April 18, the National Government and the Mayor's Office of Bogotá committed themselves to seeking strategies for the effective care of the security of ex-combatants. In the same way, the measures taken by the institutions to address and prevent attacks directed at this population were presented.

“Count on the will of the Capital District to advance the implementation of tools for protection and destigmatization,” Bogotá Peace Minister Vladimir Rodríguez told RCN Radio, adding: “It is urgent to present the Route to the territorial authorities that most expel people in the process of reinstatement. It is important that departments such as Cauca know the Route in detail in order to be more efficient in Bogotá.”

Security alerts have become evident this first quarter of 2022. Last February, a facility run by former FARC combatants in Bogotá was vandalized, being the third establishment of signatories of the Final Peace Agreement to suffer an attack so far this year.

“We are holding the national government accountable, as there have already been similar situations in a row this month. Unfortunately, we do not see any action being taken by the Government and the relevant entities. We do see systematicity, because with the house of La Roja and today we see that there is the same modus operandi, since they break some glass, they cut the bars, they don't take much, but it is like a message of: 'We want to do something to them', said Sofía Nariño, a member of the leadership of the Commons Party.

Another fact on February 3, “unidentified people forcibly entered the property and stole products of the productive initiatives of the signatories of the peace agreement”, at the La Roja Cultural House, also located in Teusaquillo, where products made or grown by 22 families of ex-combatants are sold.

“This is another example of the sabotage of productive initiatives for the social and economic reintegration of the signatories, as they also generate anxiety and fear in the collective,” Comunes said in a statement at the time.

And on January 21, the same party announced that they had found an explosive device in Casa Alternativa, a restaurant also in Teusaquillo that is home to a project by one of the signatories. It was found the day before the party led by Rodrigo Londoño, the last head of the FARC leadership and known as Timochenko, was to hold the event of the launch of its electoral campaign.

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