Overflowing violence and work of the authorities in question
There is no forcefulness in investigations to individualize the murderers. The microtrafficking of narcotics and the domain of areas is handled as a central hypothesis of that violent escalation.
The year 2025 records an unprecedented homicide rate in Barrancabermeja: a fatal crime every 39 hours. The official figures indicate 71 violent deaths in the first 120 days of the year, the highest level of the last twenty years in the Petroleum port.
The wave of violence mainly hits young people: 38 victims were between 14 and 28 years old, of them, eight were minors.
Communes 1, 3, 5 and 7 concentrate most crimes. In these sectors the sound of the shooting breaks at any time. The most recent rebound occurred between April 20 and 30: nine homicides, two of the victims with ages of 15 and 17, and two murdered women.
The most popular case was that of the teacher and social leader Genny Paola Serrano, 26, hit by 12 shots in commune 5.
Blood and fire bands
Colonel Mauricio Arley Herrera Luengas presented a balance of the investigations. He informed that the mobiles of 91 % of the murders are linked to the actions of hitmen at the service of criminal organizations: collaborators, vending, family or couples of leaders.
Crimes such as the falsity marked, to date, to two recent catches related to the crime of Professor Serrano. Both detainees face charges for possession of weapons and their possible direct link with the homicide.
Herrera Luengas detailed the complexity of the stage. Since 2022 three bands star in a confrontation with blood and fire for the control of microtrafficking in the Petrolero port and neighboring municipalities.
The increase in the foot of force and the 1,200 captures in the last year did not reversed the upward trend of crime. “Young people continue to link these bands because they find a false sense of belonging there,” said the colonel.
Chilling figures of murdered bullet
The figures collected so far from 2025, the count of victims broken down: 63 men – five minors – six women – three adolescents – and two unidentified people. The most vulnerable neighborhoods concentrate residential areas and shopping centers, which exposes innocent passers -by.
Neighbors, in all communes and rural areas, denounce constant fear of violent siege. “We cannot walk calm or buy food without crossing us with a shooting,” says Doña Marta Rodríguez, resident of commune 3.
The absence of the mayor of Barrancabermeja, who did not attend the Departmental Security Council held on April 29, fueled citizen indignation. Departmental authorities and community leaders demanded their presence to coordinate joint actions with the Police and the Army. The local administration alleged agenda conflicts, but the official silence deepens distrust.
Social organizations demand prevention programs that offer opportunities to children and adolescents.
Categorical measures to stop violence
Colonel Herrera stressed that education and job offer are needed. However, Barranqueños leaders demand immediate results: “Promises are not enough. People need tangible answers,” said youth leader Juan Camilo Gómez.
The question that circulates in each corner, in each house and in each social network is simple and forceful: who is in charge of the security in Barrancabermeja? While the official response is delayed, the death toll grows and the fear clock progresses without truce.
Barrancabermeja faces its most painful test. The challenge is double: contain criminal escalation and rebuild trust between authorities and citizens.
The call to the mayor and the departmental government is clear: to design effective and face -to -face strategies, accompanied by social and educational programs that offer escape routes to young people.
Without gestures, without excuses, without deception. Only precise measures to stop that escalation of violence.
