Colombians Blame CCP Virus Lockdowns for Surge in Crime and Poverty

Residents successful Bogotá, Colombia, person expressed fearfulness and choler implicit a emergence successful convulsive transgression that followed connected the heels of pandemic restrictions, which caused inflated poverty and unemployment rates beginning successful March 2020.

“It doesn’t consciousness harmless anymore,” Camila Garcia, 23, told The Epoch Times. “My household lives successful Rosales [in Bogotá]. It was a harmless spot to turn up, but my dada doesn’t privation my sister and I to locomotion unsocial now. People person gotten much assertive [since the pandemic], benignant of desperate, and transgression is decidedly worse.”

The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) microorganism killed much than 125,000 radical successful Columbia since the commencement of the pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. The authorities initiated a bid of lockdowns and restrictions connected March 16 past twelvemonth meant to power the dispersed of the virus.

The lockdown drove Colombia into an economical recession successful 2020, according to a World Bank brief. Unemployment rates accrued by 50 percent, 2.5 cardinal radical lost their jobs, and the information of radical moving little than 20 hours per week accrued from 15 percent to 22 percent.

The subject is helping constabulary patrol the streets successful the La Candelaria vicinity of Bogotá connected Oct.15, 2021. (Alejandro Gomez for The Epoch Times)Arturo Hernandez, 40, mislaid his manufacturing occupation successful May 2020.

“Just astir each spot that didn’t merchantability nutrient was closed,” Hernandez told The Epoch Times. “It’s unusual logic, though. How americium I expected to bargain nutrient for my household without a job?

“It’s not a enigma wherefore transgression is worse now. Less jobs, little money, but the aforesaid fig of radical request to survive.”

Monetary poverty successful Colombia reached 42.5 percent successful 2020 and utmost monetary poorness reached 15.1 percent, according to a report to Colombia’s National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE).

So far, the opening of 2021 was the astir violent commencement to a twelvemonth since the signing of the bid accords betwixt the authorities and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) successful 2016, according to a report by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).

A slope successful the El Chico vicinity wherever the relative of Diego Rodriguez was robbed connected Oct. 15, 2021. (Alejandro Gomez for The Epoch Times)

Armed criminals and nationalist forces have clashed in 14 documented incidents, according to the JEP report. There person been 14 societal person assassinations and six massacres, arsenic of Jan. 26 this year, the study said.

“My relative was robbed successful daylight a fewer weeks back,” Diego Rodriguez, 31, told The Epoch Times. “I mean, helium wasn’t adjacent successful a atrocious area. He walked retired of an ATM successful El Chico and a feline with a weapon was crouched, looking similar helium was tying his shoe, and conscionable stood up and grabbed my cousin. The feline demanded his wallet and ran.”

Rodriguez was asked if helium thought transgression had gotten worse since the opening of the pandemic.

“Definitely,” helium replied. “How did they [the government] expect to unopen things down and permission radical without a mode to marque money? Just astir everyone I cognize was affected, either mislaid a occupation oregon has a household subordinate who mislaid a job. How did they deliberation that would go?”

The authorities deployed 360 soldiers to the streets of Bogotá to assistance section constabulary with transgression mitigation efforts.

Minister of Defense Diego Molano said, “We are changing reality, not conscionable perception,” successful a nationalist connection released connected Twitter connected Sept. 15 addressing the deployment.

An equipped worker adjacent Plaza Bolivar successful Bogotá connected Oct. 15, 2021. (Alejandro Gomez/Epoch Times)

Meanwhile, a hunger onslaught is underway connected the steps of the Cathedral Primada de Colombia and Capilla del Sagrario successful the nation’s capital. Activists successful Bogotá are protesting connected behalf of their radical successful La Guajira region, who person been decimated economically and deficiency entree to captious resources specified arsenic potable water.

Law pupil Jose Flores, 19, told The Epoch Times that the authorities claims not to person immoderate wealth to assistance the radical portion the economical fallout from the pandemic effect has been brutal.

“There is nary water, nary food, our children are dying, and it’s adjacent worse present [this year],” helium said. “They request to hole this.”

Colombia’s curate of defense’s bureau didn’t respond to a petition for comment.