Violent record in the carnival: 57 captures and 10 deaths in Barranquilla and the Atlantic

After Joselito's death and the end of a new edition of the Barranquilla Carnival, the Metropolitan Police made a security report during the four days of festivities in La Arenosa, in which, in most cases, 1,765 fights were recorded due to excessive alcohol consumption, in the capital of the Atlantic and surrounding municipalities. .

General Luis Hernández, commander of the Metropolitan Police of Barranquilla (Mebar), indicated that during the carnival “19,000 calls were received to the 123 emergency line for different reasons, of which 1717 were due to quarrels attended by the Metropolitan Police. These acts of intolerance left us 34 injured and 10 people lost their lives, five of them in the city of Barranquilla,” the officer explained.

According to General Hernández, the police responded to the call of some people who claimed that an event in the La Victoria neighborhood, south of Barranquilla, had entered an armed man, but that when the three police uniformed men arrived, a group of people attacked them by blunt objects causing minor injuries.

According to information from El Heraldo, some of those involved would already be fully identified.

The commander of the Mebar also announced that 57 captures were carried out, 14 firearms seized, two cars and four motorcycles recovered, 87 bladed weapons, two traumatic weapons, 1267 grams of narcotics, 64 bottles of liquor, and 14 cell phones that had been stolen.

In the rest of the Atlantic municipalities, four more homicides and three people injured were reported. The police intervened in 17 parties and attended another 48 quarrels. In addition, the authorities sanctioned 62 citizens for bad behavior and closed a trading establishment.

Finally, the official stressed that approximately 1 million people attended the festivities, and that during the carnival weekend there were no road accidents on the Atlantic roads.

Mayor Jaime Pumarejo gave a positive balance at the end of the carnival and assured that revenue for the city was about 400 billion pesos; about 53,500 jobs were generated, direct and indirect, and 23,500 jobs were set up for other Carnival-related activities.

In the hotel sector alone, sales were approximately 3 billion pesos, with a capacity of 90%. Compared to the last face-to-face edition, in 2020, where occupancy was 92%, the result is satisfactory considering that there is still a risk of contagion with COVID 19. The initial estimates made by Cotelco Atlántico doubled, said the mayor.

The gastronomic sector was also another sector that benefited, in addition to Carnival, from the match played by the Colombian National Team last Thursday, March 24, against Bolivia; this meant a 30% increase in sales.

Stores such as liquor stores, bars, hairdressers, gas stations and pharmacies had a significant increase in sales. The transport sector also benefited, taking into account the figures provided by El Heraldo, the average expenditure of tourists during the 4 days of Carnival, both nationals and foreigners, was approximately 1,330 million pesos per visitor. In addition, it is estimated that some 350,000 people arrived in Barranquilla.

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