Colombian president says orgaized crime reduced by half

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Thursday that cases of organized crime in the country have been reduced by nearly 50 percent in 2015.

"Results are already visible. Almost 30 gang leaders and more than 420 of its members have been captured. We have already seized more than 10 tons of drugs and guns from them," the head of state said.

Santos made the statement after holding a meeting with the National Security Council in the presidential palace here, accompanied by the commanders of the police and armed forces, Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon and deputy attorney general Jorge Fernando Perdomo.

The government has also launched a new policy to fight criminal gangs and other armed insurgent groups in the country, Santos said.

"We have discussed a strategic policy that has several components, including prevention (efforts) and actions to dismantle what feeds their structures -- illegal economies," Santos said.

"This will be a combination of security forces intelligence operations with social and economic development programs for specific country areas," he said. "That will allow us to utilize all legal instruments at our disposal to be more effective in cracking down on organized crime."

In addition, Santos announced the creation of a specialized prosecution system for organized crime, which includes trained judges, public defenders, criminal investigation and the establishment of detention centers.

"We need to build the capacity to prosecute these people, because it is useless to capture them if they do not face trials leading to sentences," Santos said.

The Defense Ministry will implement these programs and policies shortly in 10 municipalities across the country that are highly influenced by these criminal gangs. Endi