Judge denies guardianship against Mayor Claudia López for her comments regarding Venezuelans

Through her Twitter account, the president celebrated the ruling of the 11 Municipal Criminal Court that did not accept the protection against her for the alleged discriminatory words against Venezuelan migrants.

This, according to the president, confirmed that their expressions “They were not discriminatory, much less xenophobia against Venezuelan citizens.”

Despite this, the mayor again referred to the migrants and assured “neither can we fall into the denial of facts that we have to recognize with serenity and confront with force”.

This message was accompanied by the trill of the District Legal Secretary who made the judge’s decision public.

The ruling of the 11 Municipal Criminal Court with Guarantees Control Functions of the Bogotá circuit maintains in the document that the president of the capital did not refer to all Venezuelans who have come to the city in their statements and that she made the reservation “Only and exclusively to those who are involved with the commission of punishable acts.”

“At no time has unequal treatment been suggested for Venezuelans, neither against Colombian nationals, nor against foreigners from any country. Nor has it been wanted to instill hatred or aversion against said citizens ”.

The Secretary of Government of Bogotá, Luis Ernesto Gómez, released the figures of foreigners who, during this year, requested the country for Colombian nationality by adoption. It was known that, of the 87 foreigners who have taken the oath and have been adopted by the country, 71% have been Venezuelans.

In fact, in a single day the benefit was given to seven people who traveled from Venezuela to the country in search of opportunities. “Today seven immigrants born in Venezuela and one in Mexico, joined the 79 foreigners who have voluntarily wanted to settle in Bogotá, thanks to the opportunities that the city has offered them,” the Secretariat confirmed through a statement.

The Secretariat also confirmed that, so far in 2020, 62 people from Venezuela completed the process by which they received Colombian nationality by adoption. A figure that the secretary used to remember that “Venezuela was the home of many Colombians for years, now in Bogotá we offer them the same opportunities as other immigrants.”

According to figures from Migración Colombia, until August 31, 2020, more than 1,722,000 Venezuelans were registered in the country, of which 766,200 are regular and 956,623 are irregular. Although since 2016 there has been a significant increase in the arrival of Venezuelans to the country, in February of this year the curve began to fall, so much so that from March to August about 103,000 Venezuelans have left the country.

In the country, Bogotá is the city that concentrates the most migrants of this nationality, with more than 337,526, which represents 19.59% of the national total. It is followed by territories such as Norte de Santander (11.26%), Atlántico (9.21%), Antioquia (8.86%) and La Guajira (8.72%).

Among the other foreigners who have received Colombian nationality by adoption in Bogotá, there are citizens from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

It should be remembered that, a few days ago, Mayor Claudia López spoke for the first time about the controversy that a comment of her about the Venezuelan population and its involvement in crimes of theft unleashed. “It is unfair that they accuse me of xenophobia,” he told El Tiempo in a live broadcast.

Despite the fact that many expected her to recant, the mayor remained in her position and said that her mayor’s office is too generous to be charged with xenophobia “for saying something that is true.”

“There are a few Venezuelans in crime and therefore we should apply the law that includes deporting them. Saying that neither generalizes nor stigmatizes. Recognize a problem “, argument. She also said that it is not about nationality because, for her, it is a “criminal minority” of Venezuelans and Colombians.

Also, it released strong figures regarding the participation of this population in crimes. According to López, Venezuelans are 4 percent of the population of Bogotá and their participation in robberies in the city is 25 percent, “5 times their participation in the population, why?”, the president questioned.

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