Power vacuum fuels vicious drug war

By Karl Penhaul, CNN

“Medellin is once again in the grip of a vicious drug war. In January to September this year, city authorities say the murder rate has more than doubled with almost 2,000 killings. Officials at the Medellin public prosecutor’s offices say the vast majority of victims were shot, likely victims of rival drug gangs and cocaine capos. That makes Medellin as dangerous as Ciudad Juarez, the frontier town dubbed Mexico’s most dangerous city as a result of the ongoing cartel war there. Authorities in Juarez say killings are up from last year and are hitting record highs.
Colombian authorities estimate there are around 130 street gangs — known as “combos” — in Medellin, totaling some 6,000 members. Their only real loyalty is to the money that drug capos dole out to hire a gang’s services.
Capos will supply them with drugs to retail on street corners and occasionally issue them weapons to take on rival gangs loyal to another crime boss.”

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/10/13/colombia.drug.war/