The mayor of Valledupar, Ernesto Orozco Durán, signed Decree 177 of February 9, 2024, which extends for one more year the measure prohibiting male grillers over 14 years of age in the city. This restriction, initially proposed by the Mello Castro González administration through Decree 1072 of August 8, 2023, was established for the same period.
According to the document, the decision was made after a meeting of the Extraordinary Municipal Security Council, in which local authorities, the Attorney General’s Office, the Person’s Office, as well as police authorities and members of the military forces in charge of controlling the public order in the city. The problems related to security were analyzed, concluding that one of the elements frequently used to commit criminal acts is the motorcycle.
The Decree, according to the mayor, is based on the “success” of the measure implemented by the previous administration, which has contributed to reducing crime in the city. According to a report from the National Police, criminal behavior decreased by 40% since the regulation of motorcycles in January 2023 until this year.
Read also: Does the ban on male grillers serve to combat crime in Valledupar?
The ordinance will be in force 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for one more year, and will only exempt motorcycle circulation for public officials, members of the Public Force, traffic authorities, among other specific cases. Violators will be subject to a fine equivalent to 16 current legal daily minimum wages.
CITIZEN REACTIONS
The union of motorcycle taxi drivers expressed their disagreement with the extension of the Decree, arguing the need for more employment opportunities for young people who carry out this work. “What the mayor should manage is more employment opportunities for the young people who carry out this work, if they want us to fulfill it, because necessity makes one look for things. There are motorcycle taxi drivers who work honestly, but there is a group that camouflages itself to carry out its misdeeds, which will always have active crime cases,” expressed a young motorcycle taxi driver from the Los Milagros neighborhood of Valledupar.
However, some citizens, such as the president of the Community Action Board of the Villa Dariana neighborhood, supported the measure as a way to combat motorcycle crime. “This is a measure taken by Mayor Ernesto Orozco, with which he wants to counteract robberies and murders on motorcycles, which must be constant in the city to improve the security situation.”
THE PILON He tried repeatedly to establish communication with the municipal government secretary, Jorge Pérez Peralta, but it was impossible to achieve communication with the official.
BY: YUSTIN VARELA/EL PILÓN