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i was in Colombia 6 years ago for work (Medellin). 2 things stuck with me: - there was a part of the city that was kind of fenced off for security purposes. th

by kmlx 3y ago

i was in Colombia 6 years ago for work (Medellin). 2 things stuck with me: - there was a part of the city that was kind of fenced off for security purposes. that’s where all the hotels were. once outside of that area guns were everywhere. and you could tell there was a gun culture as every gun was modified. - the locals were telling me to never go to the north of the country. apparently the people there were in the habit of kidnapping for ransom. there were also rumours of drug/gun trafficking.

petre 3y ago
> people there were in the habit of kidnapping for ransom "People there" is likely an exageration. Illegal armed groups. https://colombiareports.com/colombia-illegal-armed-groups-maps/ https://colombiareports.com/colombia-illegal-armed-groups-ma... The FARC group goes back 50+ years and was inspired by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. There are still radicals who have not laid down their weapons or profit from drug trade or gold mining operations. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/25/farc-che-guevara-era-closes-latin-america-guerrillas https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/25/farc-che-gueva...
yosito 3y ago
> there was a part of the city that was kind of fenced off for security purposes. that’s where all the hotels were I've been to Medellín several times, and stayed in some of the nicest and most popular hotels, as well as in various local neighborhoods. I never saw a fenced off part of the city.
- codethief 3y ago
  +1 No idea what GP is talking about. I lived in Medellín for a while and never saw a single gun.
  - yosito 3y ago
    I saw a couple guns. Even had a friend of mine get robbed at gun point in broad daylight.
    - codethief 3y ago
      I mean, yeah, guns definitely exist (though I happened to never see any) but this is still not the same as > guns were everywhere ;)
      - kmlx 3y ago
        when i was there guns were everywhere. guards at fancy houses with big guns, checkpoints near my hotel, police with guns on the street, etc coming from the UK where even the police doesn't have guns, it was weird, but expected. regarding the "fenced off" hotel area, not sure what was happening, but it was known to the locals that that was the "safe tourist area". maybe it was a temporary thing? maybe some foreign/local politicians was staying/visiting? no idea. but there were checkpoints all around the hotel area.
        codethief 3y ago
        > maybe it was a temporary thing? Yeah, must have been. What area were you staying in?

by kmlx 3y ago

petre 3y ago

> people there were in the habit of kidnapping for ransom "People there" is likely an exageration. Illegal armed groups. https://colombiareports.com/colombia-illegal-armed-groups-maps/ https://colombiareports.com/colombia-illegal-armed-groups-ma... The FARC group goes back 50+ years and was inspired by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. There are still radicals who have not laid down their weapons or profit from drug trade or gold mining operations. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/25/farc-che-guevara-era-closes-latin-america-guerrillas https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/25/farc-che-gueva...

yosito 3y ago

> there was a part of the city that was kind of fenced off for security purposes. that’s where all the hotels were I've been to Medellín several times, and stayed in some of the nicest and most popular hotels, as well as in various local neighborhoods. I never saw a fenced off part of the city.

codethief 3y ago
+1 No idea what GP is talking about. I lived in Medellín for a while and never saw a single gun.
- yosito 3y ago
  I saw a couple guns. Even had a friend of mine get robbed at gun point in broad daylight.
  - codethief 3y ago
    I mean, yeah, guns definitely exist (though I happened to never see any) but this is still not the same as > guns were everywhere ;)
    - kmlx 3y ago
      when i was there guns were everywhere. guards at fancy houses with big guns, checkpoints near my hotel, police with guns on the street, etc coming from the UK where even the police doesn't have guns, it was weird, but expected. regarding the "fenced off" hotel area, not sure what was happening, but it was known to the locals that that was the "safe tourist area". maybe it was a temporary thing? maybe some foreign/local politicians was staying/visiting? no idea. but there were checkpoints all around the hotel area.
      - codethief 3y ago
        > maybe it was a temporary thing? Yeah, must have been. What area were you staying in?