The mayor of Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, said that the criminal methods registered in the city are also common in Caracas

The mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, is once again in the spotlight due to her xenophobic remarks about Venezuelan migrants, whom she has been long accusing of being behind the wave of violent crime that plagues the capital of Colombia.

In an interview with Bluradio, López tried to give some answers to the security crisis, amid a wave of robberies and murders, as she pointed a finger without citing sources or providing evidence.

“The other issue is that a part of these migrant criminal structures are extremely violent, just like in Caracas, and these criminal methods, which were not very usual in Bogotá, are now more common because there is more participation, ” the mayor said.

Without naming the source of the figures, Claudia López also said that migrants represent 4 percent of Bogotá’s total population, and they are behind 15 percent of crimes, “That is almost 4 times their weight in the population”.

As a result of this xenophobic attack, Eduardo Battistini, charge d’affaires and head of mission of the Venezuelan Embassy, ​​spoke out and rejected Claudia López’s allegations.

“We want to ratify again that criminality does not have a passport and that Mayor López’s messages on social media and through statements, instead of hurting the criminals who are responsible for the insecurity, make a terrible damage to Venezuelan mothers who, fleeing a dictatorship, go out very early every day to seek opportunities and ways to support their children and loved ones through their work,” said Battistini.

In a large electoral survey conducted by SEMANA, 96 percent of citizens said that insecurity has increased in Bogotá.

Likewise, the mayor has been falling in the polls and today more people disapprove of her administration. 56 percent of the residents of Bogotá disapprove of her administration, according to Pulso País, a study conducted by Datexco for La W Radio.

The disapproval ratings of Claudia López’s work in the city government grew 16 percentage points between June and August of 2021, from 40 to 56 percent.

On the other hand, her approval rating fell 17 percentage points (down to 39 from 56 percent).

Likewise, the survey shows a fall in the favorable image of the president, since she went from 62 to 43 percent, a fall of 19 percentage points. On her side, the unfavorable image grew from 33 to 52 percent.

It’s not the first time

Every time the mayor falls in the polls, she resorts to the regrettable strategy of xenophobia, which has caused outrage in the Government, her own allies, and the international community alike.

A month ago, she even proposed creating a specialized command to persecute Venezuelans. Nastassja Rojas, a Venezuelan teacher based in Colombia, believes that “all Venezuelans are suspects [according to the mayor’s declarations]. Calling this xenophobia falls short.”

“Dear Claudia López, I cannot agree with this openly xenophobic measure. As Colombians, we have suffered discrimination more than anyone else. Hopefully, you will reconsider your position and focus your efforts on fighting crime, regardless of nationality, ” said Sergio Fajardo, a presidential candidate and one of López’s main allies.

Juan Fernando Cristo, from Coalición de la Esperanza (The Coalition of Hope), also criticized the mayor for blaming the growth of criminality in Bogotá on Venezuelans. Representative of the Green Alliance, Katherine Miranda, further called for “no more xenophobia in Bogotá” and expressed that “no excuse is longer credible”.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has also criticized the mayor. “The IACHR expresses concern about the public statements made by the mayor of Bogotá on October 29 in which she linked the Venezuelan migrant population to criminality in that city,” the organization said in 2020.

As a result of the murder of Oswaldo Muñoz, a resident of Bogotá who died after being attacked with a knife by thieves during a robbery in 2020, the mayor held Venezuelans responsible. “I do not want to stigmatize Venezuelans, but some of them are seriously making our lives difficult. Whoever comes to work is welcome here, but whoever comes to commit a crime should be deported immediately, ”said López.

Venezuelans were also linked to criminal acts in March of this year when police officer Edwin Caro died at the hands of criminals who shot him in the locality of Chapinero; the mayor did not hesitate to directly blame Venezuelan nationals living in Colombia.

“Bogotá is not going to bow down to anyone, not to criminal structures made up of Colombians or Venezuelans who pretend to subject our city to this horrible situation,” said the mayor.

Her message was met with criticism, so much so that she had to come out and apologize. “I want to offer my apologies. I have referred to migrants twice, and both times I have caused controversy and that is not what I meant. What we want is to explain that we are facing a challenge. All of us, no matter where we come from, we are all facing a challenge,” she said.

Translated by José Rafael Medina