The Government of Magdalena, the Mayor’s Office of Santa Marta and the National Government They launched a joint operation this Wednesday for recover economic activity and citizen confidence, after two days of closures caused by threats from the Conquering Self-Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada (ACSN).
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Nearly 700 members of the Police and Army reinforced securitywhile the authorities They toured the Public Market and different neighborhoods to accompany the reopening of businesses.
Until mid morning no new attacks had been recordedalthough The losses on the first day already reached $39.5 billion.
Restore peace of mind
From 8 in the morning a simultaneous institutional deployment began. The governor Margarita Guerra settled in the Public Marketthe commercial heart of Santa Marta; the mayor Carlos Pinedo Cuello went out to explore neighborhoods and commercial sectors; Police and Army reinforced strategic points and the commander of the Metropolitan Police accompanied the operations.
The mission that It was proposed by the national government is regain trust first and, with it, economic activity.
Nearly 700 members of the Police participate in the security device. Photo:Roger Urieles
But, despite the deployment, numerous businesses remained closedschools they had not normally resumed their in-person activitiesthe cleaning service was affected and mobility was still below normal.
Until mid-morning, however, no new acts of violence had been recorded in Santa Marta.
After the attacks and intimidation on Tuesday, the enemy who The authorities try to face this Wednesday is fear.
The governor settled in the Market
Margarita Guerra chose the Public Market as a starting point for try to recover the city.
From early She arrived accompanied by officials from the Governmentrepresentatives of the unions and members of the Public Force. He walked the streets, talked to merchants and asked to start progressively raising the blinds.
The Police maintain a device deployed to recover normality. Photo:Roger Urieles
The scene showed the dimension of the challenge: officials, police and military were on site, but a good part of the commerce was still closed.
“They are not alone“, them Guerra told some merchants who arrived timidly during the morning.
The governor went further and announced that is willing to move her office to the Public Market if your stay there helps regain confidence.,paragraph–13:
“We are not going to retire until regain control of the city. Believe in your institutions, that we are going to protect you and we will defeat crime“said the governor.
Your strategy is to start at the commercial heart and subsequently extend the reopening to other sectors.
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“We have to start with the Public Market and from here progressively opening the city”, he noted.
War too assured that the Public Force will remain in the territory while necessary to ensure safety conditions.
Pinedo went out to look for merchants neighborhood by neighborhood
While the governor concentrated its efforts on the market, Carlos Pinedo Cuello started a tour through different neighborhoods.
The mayor decided to talk directly to merchants, listen to your fears and verify what conditions they need to return to work.
Military deployed in Santa Marta. Photo:Courtesy
“we are here and we will continue accompanying neighborhood by neighborhood to people so that normality returns,” he said.
Pinedo assured that the device will not be only a temporary reaction to the events recorded during the last hours.
“Let’s shield Santa Marta with Police and Army so that people open up and lose their fear“, held.
The objective of the Mayor’s Office is that each commercial sector has a presence visible from the authorities and that the owners feel they can open without being exposed.
“Who guarantees that they will not return?”
The response of the merchants, however, evidence that regaining trust will require something more than a morning without attacks.
“One wants to work because we have obligationsbut we are afraid. Yesterday armed men arrived to order that they would close. “Who guarantees that today they will not come back and attack us this time?” said a merchant who asked to keep his identity confidential.
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Other assured that the institutional presence represents a relief, although he still prefers to wait.
“That Police and Army helpOf course, but we need to know that this is going to continue. We don’t want to open while everyone is here and then being alone again,” he explained.
That fear is repeated among merchants that depend on daily sales, but They consider that opening without guarantees can put their integrity and that of their workers at risk.
Reinforcements on the ground and surveillance from the air
The strategy to recover normality was defined after the Security Council carried out with the National Government.
The president Abelardo de la Espriella remained in Santa Marta and during the night participated in patrols through different sectors.
The Police came out to guarantee security in the commercial sector. Photo:Police
Besides, Police and Army reinforcements arrived from other regions to increase operational capacity in Santa Marta and strategic corridors. Approximately a component of about 700 men between the Police and the Army.
Surveillance too spread into the air. military aircraft They have flown over the city on several occasions and nearby sectors as part of the security device.
“He told me that More police and more soldiers were available to achieve security, regain order and control in Santa Marta and for people to return to their daily activities,” said Guerra when referring to his conversation with the president.
The president considers that the presence must be maintained until citizens fully recover their activities.
They are also trying to recover transportation
Another front of the institutional strategy is on the roads.
From the Transport Terminal bus departures began to be reactivated towards the Troncal del Caribe in the direction of La Guajira, one of the corridors hit by the violent events.
The vehicles They will have support from the Public Force for protect passengers, drivers and motorists.
The intention is that recovery occurs progressively: first ensure road corridors and transportationafter recover the Public Market and the main commercial sectors, and subsequently extend the support to the neighborhoods.
Every day closed costs millions
The urgency to recover activity also has an economic explanation.
Carlos Jaramillo, executive president of the Chamber of Commerce of Santa Marta for Magdalena, revealed to EL TIEMPO that the first day of paralysis left preliminary losses close to $39.5 billion only in Santa Marta.
President De La Espriella patrolled Santa Marta Photo:Social networks
“Only yesterday our preliminary estimates They correspond to more or less $39.5 billion that they stopped entering the trade balance”he explained.
By adding the effects of Ciénaga, the calculation reaches approximately $42.5 billion in a single day.
Jaramillo It is also estimated that some 22,000 businessmencompanies and commercial establishments are affected by partial or temporary closureswhile around 110,000 people depend on the hit economic chains.
Hotels, restaurants, bars, gastrobars, accommodation, transportation, commerce and small businesses They are part of that chain.
And there is an additional concern: tourism
“From the great hotelier to the carter, all of them go through an economic activity that responds to security”Jaramillo explained.
Your warning aims for the next school break season. If the perception of insecurity persists, the impact could be extended to hotel reservationsrestaurants, agencies, transportation and tourist services.
Roger Urieles for EL TIEMPO Saint Martha
