Medellin landlords and gangs skyrocket forced displacement
April 15, 2021
Medellin landlords using gangs to evict tenants more than doubled forced displacement in Colombia’s second largest city, according to the local ombudsman.
Medellin Ombudsman William Vivas said Wednesday that 530 people were forcibly displaced in the first two months of the year.
This is more than twice as much as the 245 people were were forcibly displaced from their neighborhoods in the same period last year, according to the human rights official.
Many landlords are using criminal gangs to collect the value of the rent and give people ultimatums to vacate their homes in the midst of the pandemic crisis. There are other tragedies that many families in Medellin are experiencing as a consequence of forced displacement.