Colombia

Colombia: FARC Threats in Bogota

Date: September 11th, 2008 |

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 |

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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 |

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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

Date: May 10th, 2005 |

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A recent U.S. State Department warning about travel to Colombia reminds Americans of the many dangers here, including the risk of kidnapping by narcoterrorists, but it also states that violence has diminished significantly in many areas, including the urban centers of Bogota, Barranquilla, Cartagena and Medellin. According to government figures, homicides have declined 34 percent [read more]

Colombia

Date: August 27th, 2002 |

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Already recognized as one of the world’s most dangerous countries, Colombia has recently seen the kidnapping of two large groups of tourists near Utria National Park, an area known for its dramatic coastline and touted as an eco-tourism destination. Twenty-six tourists on a fishing trip were abducted a few days after a group of 12 [read more]

Colombia: Terrorist Bombings Rise in Bogota, Tolima Department

Date: August 27th, 2008 |

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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 |

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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 |

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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]

Colombia

Date: November 18th, 2003 |

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In a country that sees about 3,000 kidnappings annually, more than the rest of the world combined, it should be no surprise that tourists who wander into areas controlled by or under the influence of guerrilla factions may end up being abducted. A group of eight backpackers from England, Germany, Israel and Spain were taken [read more]

Colombia

Date: May 28th, 2002 |

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With the election of rightist Alvaro Uribe as president, many analysts expect the war in Colombia to spill over into the neighboring countries of Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. There have already been reports of a growing rebel presence in Brazil, Peru and Venezuela. Nonessential travel near the Colombian border in any of these [read more]