Los Angeles Times

Medellin cleans up its act

Mar 26 -- The Colombian city's homicide rate is down 90%, fighters are being re-integrated into society and the sewer system -- which left the river district an open cesspool -- is being revamped.

26 de marzo de 2009

Reporting from Medellin, Colombia -- Once the shadowy and violent domain of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, Medellin has undergone a renaissance over the last decade due to enlightened civic policy and public works, offering government officials proof that urban decline can be reversed.

Once one of the world's deadliest cities, Medellin's homicide rate has dropped by more than 90% since the mid-1990s. Former rebels and paramilitary fighters are being re-integrated into Colombia's second-largest city in an innovative program adopted by the nation's demobilization director.
 
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