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Police raid drug-infested 'Bronx' in Colombia's capital

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    Police officers stand in front of a mural depicting the late drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, in the area known as El Bronx in downtown Bogota, Colombia, Monday, May 30, 2016. Thousands of police officers accompanied by city officials raided early Saturday the area plagued by drug addicts and prostitution. According to Bogota’s Major Enrique Penalosa dozens of underage girls who were forced into sexual servitude by gang members were rescued, during the raid. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (The Associated Press)

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    A police officer walks past smashed slot machines in the area known as El Bronx in downtown Bogota, Colombia, Monday, May 30, 2016. Thousands of police officers accompanied by city officials raided early Saturday the area plagued by drug addicts and prostitution. According to Bogota’s Major Enrique Penalosa dozens of underage girls who were forced into sexual servitude by gang members, were rescued during the raid. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (The Associated Press)

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    Police officers break into slot machines looking for drugs and weapons in the area known as El Bronx in downtown Bogota, Colombia, Monday, May 30, 2016. Thousands of police officers accompanied by city officials raided early Saturday the area plagued by drug addicts and prostitution. According to Bogota’s Major Enrique Penalosa dozens of underage girls who were forced into sexual servitude by gang members were rescued, during the raid. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (The Associated Press)

BOGOTA, Colombia – The streets of Colombia's largest open-air drug market look like a war zone following a police sweep through one of Bogota's most dangerous neighborhoods.

More than 2,500 heavily armed officers have participated in an operation that began Saturday in the so-called Bronx neighborhood, for its comparison to the troubled New York neighborhood.

Mayor Enrique Penalosa decided to clamp down on the neighborhood in response to complaints of brazen drug consumption and crime just blocks from the presidential palace.

More than 1,000 people, many of them homeless crack addicts, were removed and offered treatment. Authorities also rescued 136 minors.

Not everyone is welcoming the intervention. Many of those removed have relocated to a nearby plaza and armed with molotov cocktails and rocks have been clashing with police.