Colombia

Colombia: Medellín Drug Violence Returning

Date: June 16th, 2010 |

Medellín may be reverting to its old, violent ways. The city once known for drug king Pablo Escobar and narcotics violence went through a renaissance and became one of Colombia’s most popular and cultured cities, often referred to as the Miracle of Medellín. But now drug gangs are fighting a turf war in Comuna 13, [read more]

Colombia: Drug Violence Rocks Cartagena, Gang Robs Hostel Guests

Date: January 27th, 2010 |

No Comments

Cartagena, Colombia’s primary tourist city on the Caribbean Sea, largely escaped the years of violence from drug gangs in cities such as Medellin and Cali, but its luck may be running out. A series of assassinations in the first weeks of this year have authorities worried that drug gangs from elsewhere are now fighting over [read more]

Colombia: FARC Threats in Bogota

Date: September 11th, 2008 |

No Comments

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota reported receiving information that FARC rebels “may be targeting large-scale chain superstores and other commercial establishments in Bogota, as well as Colombian government buildings and places of worship in the downtown area,” for attack with improvised explosives or car bombs. The warning also stated that FARC may be planning coordinated [read more]

Colombia: Tourism Rebounds as Violence Diminishes, but Threats Remain

Date: February 7th, 2008 |

No Comments

Colombia has been experiencing a tourism renaissance in recent years as security has improved significantly, with violence down dramatically in many cities including Bogota, Cartagena, Medellin and Barranquilla. Kidnapping has diminished but not disappeared, with a recent case of six Colombian tourists being kidnapped from a Pacific coast beach in Choco Department. Narco-terrorist groups remain [read more]

Colombia: SIM Card Sellers Require Fingerprinting

Date: May 16th, 2007 |

No Comments

Purchasing a local SIM card for your cell phone can provide inexpensive local and international calls, but security for such purchases is higher here than in most countries. Customers often must submit to being fingerprinted before cell phone stores will allow them to [read more]

Colombia: U.S. Peace Corps to Return to Colombia This Fall

Date: May 19th, 2010 |

No Comments

The U.S. Peace Corps will return to Colombia for the first time in almost three decades this year following the signing of an agreement by Colombia’s foreign minister and the Peace Corps’ director May 18. The Peace Corps’ last presence in Colombia was in 1981, and its return this fall was prompted by a 2009 [read more]

Colombia: Foreigners Being Drugged and Robbed in Bogota

Date: June 10th, 2009 |

No Comments

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota continues to receive reports of drugging and robbing of foreigners in bars and other public places. Criminals offer drinks, cigarettes or gum tainted with Scopolamine or other incapacitating drugs, and rob their victims when the drug takes effect. A dramatic increase in such attacks has occurred in the Galerias district [read more]

Colombia: Terrorist Bombings Rise in Bogota, Tolima Department

Date: August 27th, 2008 |

No Comments

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota alerted U.S. citizens to increased terrorist activity in the capital city and elsewhere. Several small explosions occurred in supermarkets frequented by foreigners in Bogota Aug. 16, and on Aug. 9 a bomb in north Bogota injured eight people, including on American. Because of a spate of recent security incidents in [read more]

Colombia: Armed Robberies on Hiking Trails around Bogota

Date: December 13th, 2007 |

No Comments

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota reported that wooded hiking trails in and around the city have been the scene of violent armed robberies of U.S. citizens in the past two months. Embassy officials have restricted American employees and their families from hiking on trails above Avenida Circunvalar in Bogota or at Rocas de Suesca in [read more]

Colombia: Killings in Cartagena

Date: February 21st, 2007 |

1 comment

For years the colonial city of Cartagena on the Caribbean coast has remained relatively immune from the violence that has plagued the rest of the country, but two recent incidents have authorities worried that the city’s peaceful reputation may be eroding. A French businessman was shot and killed when he left a fish shop [read more]