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I visited Colombia for a week about a year ago, and was very pleasantly surprised with what I saw versus the typical foreign perspective IE: Colombia as a viole

I visited Colombia for a week about a year ago, and was very pleasantly surprised with what I saw versus the typical foreign perspective IE: Colombia as a violent narco-state. There are still dangerous parts of most cities, but places like Cartagena and Bogota are generally very safe and a lot of fun. Here's hoping the progress continues.

imglorp 10y ago
Bad neighborhoods are one thing--just street crime like anywhere else--but what about the kidnapping of rich tourists as a business model? In plenty of cities in the world, that's a targeted professional thing where local police might even be in on it if not participating.
- the_watcher 10y ago
  Can you clarify here? Are you accusing the Colombian police of this? Like most developing nations with a history of corruption (particularly narco-corruption), kidnapping is a danger, but like most violent Colombian crime, has become progressively less common.
  - imglorp 10y ago
    Not Colombia in particular, no. But there's huge money pressure for anyone to take on this business, and it helps to have the cops or be the cops, no? [1] Not even a 3rd world thing![2] 1. http://www.scotsman.com/news/venezuela-police-corruption-blamed-for-kidnapping-epidemic-1-1667444 http://www.scotsman.com/news/venezuela-police-corruption-bla... 2. http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/30/justice/philadelphia-police-corruption/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/30/justice/philadelphia-police-co...
- ingenieros 10y ago
  I can assure you that anyone with a net-worth north of a hundred million dollars (that's how I define "rich tourist")already takes the right precautions when traveling overseas. The kidnappings that you are describing are locally known as: "paseo millonario" Which main goal is to get you to the nearest ATM to withdraw as much as your bank limit allows. There was a notorious case a few years back of a paseo millonario gone horribly wrong when a DEA agent named James Terry Watson found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time. There was recently another tourist who made headlines when it was revealed that he had traveled all the way from the Netherlands deliberately to go on a week long drug binge in Bogota's skid row. The hoodlums who ran this place known as "el Bronx" held him hostage when he failed to pay for the drugs he had already consumed. Here's a video of the Dutch guy escaping from his captors:http://www.semana.com/nacion/multimedia/bronx-bogota-asi-secuestraron-los-sayayines-a-un-holandes/475879 http://www.semana.com/nacion/multimedia/bronx-bogota-asi-sec...

imglorp 10y ago

Bad neighborhoods are one thing--just street crime like anywhere else--but what about the kidnapping of rich tourists as a business model? In plenty of cities in the world, that's a targeted professional thing where local police might even be in on it if not participating.

the_watcher 10y ago
Can you clarify here? Are you accusing the Colombian police of this? Like most developing nations with a history of corruption (particularly narco-corruption), kidnapping is a danger, but like most violent Colombian crime, has become progressively less common.
- imglorp 10y ago
  Not Colombia in particular, no. But there's huge money pressure for anyone to take on this business, and it helps to have the cops or be the cops, no? [1] Not even a 3rd world thing![2] 1. http://www.scotsman.com/news/venezuela-police-corruption-blamed-for-kidnapping-epidemic-1-1667444 http://www.scotsman.com/news/venezuela-police-corruption-bla... 2. http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/30/justice/philadelphia-police-corruption/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/30/justice/philadelphia-police-co...
ingenieros 10y ago
I can assure you that anyone with a net-worth north of a hundred million dollars (that's how I define "rich tourist")already takes the right precautions when traveling overseas. The kidnappings that you are describing are locally known as: "paseo millonario" Which main goal is to get you to the nearest ATM to withdraw as much as your bank limit allows. There was a notorious case a few years back of a paseo millonario gone horribly wrong when a DEA agent named James Terry Watson found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time. There was recently another tourist who made headlines when it was revealed that he had traveled all the way from the Netherlands deliberately to go on a week long drug binge in Bogota's skid row. The hoodlums who ran this place known as "el Bronx" held him hostage when he failed to pay for the drugs he had already consumed. Here's a video of the Dutch guy escaping from his captors:http://www.semana.com/nacion/multimedia/bronx-bogota-asi-secuestraron-los-sayayines-a-un-holandes/475879 http://www.semana.com/nacion/multimedia/bronx-bogota-asi-sec...