Videos circulating on social media show machete fights between supporters of rival Colombian soccer clubs before and after a local derby game on Monday.
Before the two clubs’ match at the Estadio Atanasio Girardot, violence reportedly broke out between Independiente Medelln and Atlético Nacional supporters in Medelln’s streets.
In a video, fans of the opposing teams can be seen hurling things and brandishing machetes in the air. Then, with one individual wielding a pistol, Nacional supporters seemed to rush the Medelln group while waving their weapons.
After the game, which Medelln won 4-3, there were further brawls between supporters with machetes, iron bars, and other weapons outside the stadium and in the streets.
According to FutbolRed, the fighting continued until the wee hours of Monday night.
Whether anybody was wounded or whether there were any arrests is unknown. Requests for response from Insider were not immediately responded to by the National Police of Colombia, Independiente Medelln, or Atlético Nacional.
El Clasico Paisa in Medellin has a history of inciting fan violence
Violence amongst fans has historically plagued games between Independiente Medelln and Atlético Nacional, nicknamed as “El Clásico Paisa.”
68 individuals were detained, three people were injured, and police seized bombs, weapons, and narcotics during a match in 2011, according to Reuters.
According to FourFourTwo, when the sides finally met a year later, nine people were stabbed and hundreds were taken into custody.
Due to its abnormally high crime rates, Medelln, the former base of Pablo Escobar’s famed drug cartel, was named the most dangerous city in the world by Time Magazine in 1988.
According to data from the risk analysis company Verisk Maplecroft, despite a decline in crime rates, the city is still among the most hazardous in the world.
According to Pedro Piedrahta Bustamante, a political science professor at the University of Medelln, “Medelln is a core of global criminal networks.”
Because of this, despite all the city’s changes over the last several decades, negative indications of crime still exist.
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