User:Sovngarde/El Bronx (Bogotá)

El Bronx or La L (The Ele) was a sector adjacent to the Plaza de Los Mártires, in Bogotá, belonging to the Voto Nacional neighborhood of the town of the same name, in the center of the city. It is located between 9th and 10th streets and 15 and 15 A avenue. For years it had a residential and wholesale trade character. However, during the second half of the 20th century it suffered a strong process of deterioration, which after the dismantling of the neighbouring El Cartucho street, became the main centre of drug sale and consumption.

History
The blocks located southwest of the Plaza de Los Mártires were part of the traditional neighborhood of the Voto Nacional, in the historical sector of the city. In fact, the Bronx is located behind the neoclassical building of the former School of Medicine of the National University, today the Army Recruitment Battalion, and a few meters away from the Sacred Heart of Jesus Basilica.

After the assassination of the political leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán and the popular uprise known as the Bogotazo, it suffered, along with the rest of the centre, a strong process of urban deterioration. Together with the neighboring neighborhood of Santa Inés, this sector was severely affected by the inauguration of the Ciudad Salitre Transport Terminal. Until then, this activity had operated informally on Caracas Avenue and 10th Street, and its end resulted in the creation of the "pot" of El Cartucho, a place that was later dismantled and recovered, resulting in a new center of concentration of crime known as El Bronx.

In this place, innumerable cases of micro-trafficking in drugs, human trafficking, forced prostitution, mutilations and murders were reported that occurred from its creation until its final years, when Bogotá police officers were bribed by the sector's mafias to allow drug trafficking in the area.

The sector was also known by various names such as "La Caldera del Diablo", "La Letra", "La L (La Ele)" or "El Horno", this due to the geographical shape of the streets and areas of this sector

On May 28, 2016, El Bronx was raided by more than 2,500 men from the National Police and the Army and some social welfare agencies. After the operation, the beginning of the urban renewal process in the sector was announced, including demolitions and other initiatives.

El Bronx in popular culture

 * The Kiss of the Bronx or the Kiss of the Invisibles Mural on 26th Street and 15th.