Colombia

Dangerous Places

Everywhere
Santa Marta
Bolivar Department and Barrancabermeja
The Darien
Cartagena
Medellín
Valle Department
Other Guerrilla Areas
The Upper Magdalena
Bogotá
Colombia East of the Andes
North Coast/Barranquilla/Isla San Andres
Cali and Valle de Cauca Department
Cali-Buenaventura Highway

Everywhere

In an average Colombian day there are 2 bank robberies, 8 highway robberies, 87 murders and 204 assaults or muggings. At least you’ll have armed guards if you’re kidnapped. An April 1999 State Department warning recommended that all travel be deferred to Colombia. If you decide not to heed it, you will be the target of thieves, kidnappers and murderers. In 1997, there were 1,537 terrorist crimes committed. Civilians and soldiers are routinely stopped at roadblocks, dragged out of their cars and summarily executed in Antioquia Department. Tourists are drugged in bars and discos, then robbed and murdered. Expats, missionaries and other foreigners are favorite targets of terrorist groups, who kidnap them for outrageous ransom amounts that climb into the millions of dollars.

Should you be victimized or seek revenge due to a misfortune, expect little comfort or sympathy from the police, military, and judicial or diplomatic folks; they’re busy covering their own asses from the threat of terrorism, drug cartels and crime lords. Since 1990, some 5,000 police officers have been killed. Only about 12 percent of the crimes committed in Colombia ever reach the judicial system.

Santa Marta

The north end of town and the Rodadero Beach areas are extremely dangerous. Do not travel alone into these areas. Daylight armed robberies of tourists are commonplace. Thieves will often relieve their victims of their clothes as well as all other valuables.

Bolivar Department and Barrancabermeja

Bolivar Department in Colombia’s far north has become a killing field. Massacres by right-wing paramilitary death squads caused 6,000 villagers to flee their villages near the Serrania de San Lucas in June 1998 alone. The rural department has essentially, since then, been cleansed of its population, most of which has ended up in the dangerous, lawless oil city called Barrancabermeja. But these desplazados find little peace there. A May 1998 massacre there left 30 dead. Sniper fire in the streets of Barrancabermeja is common. Barrancabermeja is Colombia’s Sarajevo.

The Darien

Pressed against the Panama border, Uraba is the murder capital of Colombia - more than 700 people were killed in Uraba by leftist guerrillas in 1996. The country’s richest banana-growing region, it’s also home to myriad drug runners, leftist guerrillas and paramilitary outfits. Uraba’s annual murder rate of 254 per 100,000 people is the highest in Colombia. How bad is Uraba? Local officials are pleading for UN intervention and for a peacekeeping force to be installed. The area around the Darien Peninsula is a major transit point for contraband goods and a center for drug processing. The FARC group provides protection for the drug labs. Two Austrian and two Swiss tourists were kidnapped while they went to visit a nature preserve in March of ‘97. Their kidnappers demanded US$15 million and FARC wasn’t going to use that cash to save the rain forest. Two of the victims were killed in the government rescue attempt.

Cartagena

Professional pickpockets abound, especially at the beaches. They especially like to strike in crowded areas. Cameras are a favorite trophy for thieves here. Scams in Cartagena are numerous. Other crooks pose as tour guides. Some of them can be rather touchy if you turn down their expensive excursion offers. If you’re offered a job on a ship bound for the United States or other parts of South America, don’t believe it because this is most assuredly a con. To its credit, though, Cartagena is probably the safest place in Colombia.

Medellín

Despite being a major drug traffickers’ center and the new murder capital of Colombia, the city is a remarkably friendly place. Medellín had 4,472 murders in 1997, more than 12 a day. However, it’s not the drug-lords you should be afraid of here. Rather, it’s petty thieves and street thugs. Medellín has been experiencing a rash of bombings, most attacks being carried out by the FARC. On one day alone in June 1997, FARC bombed the union offices of a lingerie maker, two private homes in Caicedo neighborhood, five city buses and, for the pièce de résistance, guerrillas booby-trapped a FARC flag, which exploded when a man tried to remove it at Antioquia University.

Valle Department

Everywhere off the main roads in Valle Department is extremely unsafe due to guerrilla activities. Beware particularly of Cauca Department E off the Pan-American Highway. Tourists should avoid this area entirely. Areas of Cra 6 are also extremely dangerous, including Parque Bolivar and the market. There has also been guerrilla activity in the Purace National Park area, particularly near the Popayan-La Plata Road. In Inza, women should not be on the streets unaccompanied.

Other Guerrilla Areas

The Departments of Boyaca, Norte de Santander, Casanare, Caqueta, Huila, Putumayo, Cesar, Guajira, Arauka, Meta, as well as the Turbo/Uraba region.

The Upper Magdalena

You’ll constantly encounter riffraff here, touting everything from drugs, gold and emeralds to pre-Columbian art. The items are always fake, except for the drugs.

Bogotá

There were 3,531 homicides in Bogotá last year. That’s the good news. It’s down from 4,352 - its high in 1993. It still has a murder rate of 61.2 per 100,000 residents. Narco-traffickers and guerrillas have threatened and carried out terrorist attacks against Colombian officials, foreign embassies and other targets. Expect to travel in fear of violent crime, particularly in the south of Bogotá. Tourist areas are infested with thieves, pickpockets and opportunists. The richer, northern suburbs of Bogotá have experienced a rash of car bombings. If you survive the 7.5-mile ride into Bogotá from the airport, be forewarned that crime is prevalent in the vicinity of hotels and airports. Large hotels, travel agencies, corporate headquarters and other institutions that display U.S. corporate IDs are targeted by terrorists for bombing attacks.

Colombia East of the Andes

This area can be hazardous to your health, with the exception of the city of Leticia in the Amazonas Department and adjacent tourist areas in Amazonas.

North Coast/Barranquilla/Isla San Andres

Cali is the home of two of the major drug cartels. Expect plenty of fighting between the two rival groups. The island of San Andres is a major drug shipment area. Cartagena is considered relatively safe, due to the increased presence of police protecting the lucrative tourist trade. Expect tourist crime.

Barranquilla is the site of guerilla attacks on businesses and government centers. The busy port is a major center for drug traffickers. Guerrillas like to regularly attack the naval base near the airport at night. Outside the city limits is the domain of bad people, particularly at night.

Cali and Valle de Cauca Department

During the first five months of 1997, 721 murders and 18 kidnappings were committed in Cali and Valle de Cauca Department. It’s hard to believe, but these figures represent a 27 percent downward trend in murder and kidnapping in the area - that’s if the figures can be believed (1997 was an election year). Rarely does the crime rate go down while unemployment is rising, as it is in Cali. Wanna get a job here? Good luck; the unemployment rate is 17 percent. In 70 percent of the crimes committed in Cali, either the perpetrator or the victim is under 17 years old. In 1995, 1,243 minors were arrested for crimes ranging from robbery to murder.

Cali-Buenaventura Highway

The highway between these two cities has become prime pickings for guerrillas and common thugs. Kidnappings have increased markedly on the highway, most performed by FARC rebels and bandits. The road is also the venue for a surge in truck jackings by “land pirates.”