When I speak to most people from the US, they know of Colombia by only 3 things: beautiful Colombian women, Pablo Escobar (murders and kidnappings), and the cocaine industry. Fortunately, there is an still an over-abundance of beautiful Colombian women, Pablo Escobar died in 1993, and the Colombian government is still battling a civil war with Marxists rebels and confronting the drug cartels in parts of Colombia with the assistance of the US government. Unfortunately, almost the entire world is pretty much ignorant of the realities of current day Colombia, and continues to hold an outdated opinion of Colombia and the multitude of things Colombia and the Colombian people have to offer the world. One only has to experience Colombia in person to realize the bad rap the world places on Colombia, which is perpetuated by the world mainstream media with their philosophy that "negativity sells". The worlds media really do an injustice to Colombia and the wonderful Colombian people. All you need to do is visit Colombia, and you will see firsthandfor yourself!
Opinions on the current security situation range from the delusional and paranoid on the one extreme, to the careless on the other extreme. I cannot speak for the experiences of others with Colombia, but I certainly can provide my assessment of the safety of tourists and visitors to Colombia having lived her since 2007, with my first trip here in 2002. I have repeatedly visited the cities of Bogota, Cali, Medellin, Manizales, Pereira, Barranquilla and several smaller cities since 2002. And No, I do not stick to the tourist areas of any of those cities, as I am very much the adventurous type. Additionally, 28 years of street level law enforcement experience can also be thrown into the mix.
I think as long as the average tourist and short-term visitor to Colombia, whose primary experience is confined to the tourist areas, practices normal common-sense precautions while visiting any foreign country, Colombia is a pretty safe tourist destination. If these normal common-sense precautions are not practiced, then the foreign visitor to any country can suffer negative consequences, including visitors to the US. For example, if you are the type of tourist who loves to adorn themselves with flashy expensive jewelry while visiting any foreign country with a suffering economy, then you deserve the unexpected results which occur due to your stupidity. The reality is that millions of tourists and visitors experience Colombian every year without incident. Personally, I have never feared for my safety while in Colombia. I have, on the other hand, had demands for money from the Colombian National Police who were assigned to the Control Points just outside of Barranquilla. Neither time did I give them the bribes they wanted. Police corruption is not exclusive to Colombia. Corruption occurs in every country, including the US. To deny that borders on the ridiculous.
One cannot deny the fact that Colombia does have its share of internal problems. Some parts of Colombia still suffer from over 40 years of civil war with the attempts of a Marxist Rebel group called the FARC. These insurgent originally intended to overthrow the Colombian government and install a leftist form of government, but have since morphed into strictly narco-terrorist organization controlling a significant portion of the cocaine market. Now, unless the average tourist wanders off into the Colombian departments where the FARC operate, becoming a victim due to exposure to the FARC is almost non-existent. These areas are not tourist areas by any stretch of the imagination.
In my next blog entry, I will address security and safety issues found in the primary tourist destination of Colombia, the beautiful and historical city of Cartagena.
Michael
Colombia! The Only Risk is Wanting to Stay!
Comments