Buenaventura – “The Pact for Life”

Buenaventura has long been an important node in international illicit markets, particularly cocaine trafficking due to its port. Gangs, paramilitaries and organized criminal networks have all looked to gain a foothold here. The resulting violence has meant the city has seen many murders, and even more disappearances, with terrifying tales emanating from the so-called 'Casa de pique’ (Chop Shops).

In September 2022, two gangs in Buenaventura, on the Pacific coast of Colombia, signed a truce to end the bloodshed that had gripped the city for two years - called 'The Pact for Life', which was mediated by the Bishop of Buenaventura.

Los Shottas and Los Espartanos (the Spartans) had been locked in a vicious battle ever since they had both broken away from the La Local gang, carving up the city between them.

The administration of President Gustavo Petro, saw the truce as an opportunity to negotiate with these two gangs under the Total Peace policy, which looks to reduce violence in communities across Colombia.

There has been a reduction in homicides, but this stat hides the fact that other crimes have increased - extortion, disappearances, control of movement, and the "justice" (fines, beatings or murder) meted out on the population by the gangs.

Speaker(s):

Mariana Botero Restrepo, former GITOC Analyst and Researcher in the Observatory of the Andean Region.

Felipe Botero Escobar, Head of Andean Regional Office, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Juanita Durán-Vélez, Lawyer, Crime and Justice Lab, Colombia.

Links:

Andean Regional Office, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Podcast & Article - Clan del Golfo: The fall of 'Otoniel': How Colombia's biggest drug lord was taken down.

The base research (Negotiating with Criminal Groups: Colombia´s Total Peace Policy) for this episode was initially developed and supported by Serious Organized Crime and Anticorruption Evidence research program.

Additional...