“Increasing Robberies in Ibagué: Merchants and Citizens Demand More Support from Local Authorities”

Last Saturday this newspaper recorded how robberies have been increasing, two cases, one at the Mafia Store, a cell phone and accessories store, and clothing, at 8:40 am in the city center in the Carrera Tercera with Calle 15 where 25 cell phones and a computer were stolen, more than 40 million pesos. It is evident that the merchants’ claim is fair, more support from the authorities is needed, it is really questionable that these events occur in the heart of the city center at such an early hour of the day. It shouldn’t happen at any time and anywhere.

The other case occurred last Friday, against the clothing company I love My Style, where equipment, computers, machinery, money, merchandise were stolen. The businesswoman’s claim is as timely as it is heartbreaking, “it is very hard to be an entrepreneur and find ourselves in this type of situation.” Indeed, it is very frustrating that a person works honestly and loses his capital in this way.

The theft at the home of an Ibagué councilor in the Piedrapintada neighborhood where more than six individuals on motorcycles around 7 p.m. took cash, dollars, electrical appliances, and computers was another of the most notorious cases this past week. The councilor’s statements express an opinion that many share today, “this is the repercussion of the security system that is being implemented today in Colombia. We are being permissive with all these criminal gangs, these organized gangs.” Indeed, this case and the previous ones indicate that there are a good number of gangs in Ibagué that are doing their thing in the city.

And in the neighborhoods it is also observed how criminals are robbing passers-by and neighbors. Couples on motorcycles, driven by women with male grillers, rob people who are walking through the city’s neighborhoods. Others are stealing car parts to resell them to their owners in well-known clubs around the city.
Thus, insecurity in Ibagué is not a matter of perception, insecurity in Ibagué is a reality that needs more attention from the local authorities. Obviously, the current security scheme in the city is not working and no matter how much the mayor’s office and the police want to affirm otherwise, the situation is really critical.