The Government paralyzes the Andrés Carne de Res restaurant due to the case of Laura Villamil

The iconic Andrés Carne de Res restaurant, in its historic location in the municipality of Chía, will have to close its doors temporarily. This was announced on Tuesday by Colombia’s Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez, after an inspection carried out by that entity at the place. The ministry inspected the restaurant for 20 hours to evaluate the working conditions of the place where Laura Daniela Villamil, a 28-year-old actress, had a terrible accident on August 17. That night, in the middle of a show in which fire was used, the straw skirt that Villamil was wearing caught fire, and 80% of her body was burned. She has been in intensive care since then, but Minister Ramírez was able to speak with her family this week to express her solidarity.

The closure of the restaurant is a precautionary measure, explains a statement from the Ministry of Labor that does not give details about what was found in the inspection. It does not specify whether, for example, there were fire extinguishers near the victim when the fire occurred, or whether the restaurant was wrong or not in holding the fire show in an enclosed space. But the halting of the activity presumes that there are irregularities to consider, and the statement says that the measure will be maintained until the occupational risk administrator (ARL in the jargon of Colombian social security) hired by the company that owns the restaurant verifies and certifies certain points that the ministry requests.

President Gustavo Petro accused the restaurant more directly. “My government has decided to close Andrés Carne de Res for its irresponsibility in the dignified treatment of its workers,” he wrote on his X account.

In a video announcing the decision, which the ministry has released on social media, Ramírez demands that the restaurant maintain the employment relationship with its employees during this temporary closure, and pay their salaries and social benefits. “The priority for the Ministry of Labor is to ensure compliance with labor standards,” says Ramírez, a veteran union leader who came to the government on day one, more than two years ago. “We invite all companies to jointly strengthen the necessary measures in terms of safety and work with the ARL.”

The company that owns Andrés Carne de Res, Inversiones Guadalupe y Amigos, is not giving interviews to the media about the Villamil case, but in a statement two weeks ago it expressed its defense: it assures that after the accident “all established safety and care protocols were activated immediately and effectively.”

The case of Laura Daniela Villamil has caught the attention of several officials, including President Petro, who had already expressed his solidarity with her on the social network X and openly asked if it was not greed that led to an accident like the one that occurred to the actress. Friends of Villamil and former employees of Andrés Carne de Res have also expressed their discontent with the restaurant chain —which, in addition to the iconic location on the outskirts of Bogotá, has others in that city, in Medellín or Santa Marta—, denouncing violations of labor rights.

One of those friends, theatre director Johan Velandia, recently asked in an interview with this newspaper why the restaurant did not stop its operations for a single day in solidarity with one of its employees. Villamil had been working at Andrés Carne de Res for five years, entertaining children and adults. The Chía location, where diners used its tablecloths to put out the fire that burned the young actress’s body, will have to close its doors by order of the Government.

Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS newsletter on Colombia and Here on the WhatsApp channeland receive all the key information on current events in the country.