The ‘Colombian Bukele’ Advances his Policy Against Nightlife in Bucaramanga

Jaime Beltran, the mayor of Bucaramanga known as the ‘Colombian Bukele’ is advancing his policy against nightlife in Colombia’s fifth largest city. In his fight against disruptions of the peace of the city, the local mayor continues with his plan to increase measures against noise and disorder in areas close to nightlife venues.

After months of controversy, last week, the Mayor’s Office issued a decree with the new hours of operation of night establishments. Since March 6, the local legislation, coordinating with the rest of the municipalities of the metropolitan area, has established that the closing time for these establishments is set at 2am every day.

Affecting the Cabecera neighborhood

The law applies to all types of nightlife establishments, such as bars, terraces, discos and taverns, according to the document issued by the mayor’s office. Particularly criticized has been the new closing time imposed: 2am.

The regulation mostly affects the Cabecera neighborhood, known as ‘Cuadra Play’, as it is an area that integrates a multitude of these establishments. Because of this, last weekend (the first since the aforementioned decree reducing the hours allowed for rumba from 3am to 2am was put into force), teams from the Mayor’s Office, the police and the fire department carried out inspections in night establishments.

The objective of this deployment was to verify that the premises had all the necessary documents and permits for their respective activities. In this context, the police announced that on the night of Friday, March 8, two establishments were closed for not having all their documentation up to date.

With these, there are now nine establishments that have been shut down for not complying with the code of coexistence and citizen security in Bucaramanga. “We want these to be safe places for the community. We will carry out other interventions in collaboration with the Secretariat of Health, the Secretariat of Planning and the Office of Risk Management,” said Colonel Gildardo Rayo about the closures of the aforementioned party venues.

“Bringing tranquility back to the city”

In a comment on social networks, the mayor of Bucaramanga affirmed that the objective of his cabinet is to “return tranquility to the city”. The mayor has managed to approve the decree opposed by the employers of nightlife establishments which, as they complained a few days ago, harms their interests, imposing more restricted hours of operation than those that already existed.

In this way, Beltran continues with his policy of restrictions and prohibitions as effective measures to fight insecurity and crime, guidelines that led him to win the elections in October last year.

Since he took office in January, the man known as the ‘Colombian Bukele’, because of his willingness to fight crime through forceful actions and a firm hand, has developed a series of measures that, despite restricting freedom of movement, have been well received by the citizens.