"una perdida de espacio de la Policia Nacional Civil" I'm sure that this is not talking about a loss of physical space, but am not sure how to translate it.

Question

This phrase is part of a human rights report about the problem of insecurity and daily murders in the country. I don't think that it is talking about a downturn or loss of physically space, but I can't think of how to translate this phrase.

Answer 1

Hi marciadiaz

Besides loss, perdida can also mean

Carencia, privación de lo que se poseía- lack or deprivation of what used to be possessed

So it might be saying that the National Civil Police have lost much of the space that they used to own

or maybe they are saying that the National Civil Police have sustained losses in the the ground that they used to hold.

or perhaps less literally: The National Civil Police have lost ground (in their fight against drug dealers for example)

I would guess that the third one is probably correct, but a bit more context would also help.

I hope that this was helpful to you.